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MRS. BRIGADIER GEN. EGBERT LVIElE. 





* 



PIULADELmiA. 

PETERSON & BROTHER 
Price 50 Cents. 





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followiing the drum. 



BY 



MRS. BRIGADIER GEN. EGBERT L. VIELE. 



" Oh, the drum— it rattles su louJ : 
There's no such stirring sound 
Is heard the wide world raund, 
As the drum .^^—Riickert. 

" Oh, there's not a trade that's going 
Worth showing ! or knowing • 
Like that from glory growing ! 
For a Bowld Sojer Boy .'"— OZd Song. 



/C. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, 
3 6 C H E S T N U T S T R E E T. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, liy 
T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, 
In the Clerk'8 Office of the District Court of the United States, iu and f.r tU( 
Eastern District of Pennsvlvania. 



-/ $. 



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fC 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 



yy 



CHAPTEE I. 

ENLISTING. 

" There's not a trade a going ; 

Worth knowing ! or showing! 
Like that from glory growing 1" 

No recruit ever entered the service with more 
enthusiasm than I did, or felt more eager to 
prove himself a soldier. 

Military glory, in all its varied phases, had 
charmed and dazzled me from childhood. My 
beau-ideal hero would have completely lost his 
identity without his sword and epaulets, and as 
for my beau-ideal heroine, the Maid of Sara- 
gossa was a poor, tame, spiritless creature com- 
pared to her. 

(19) 



20 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

Mars would have gloried in the wonderful 
female that my imagination loved to paint, and 
to follow her heroic footsteps seemed a high 
ambition. 

She was a kind of tough, weather-proof. In- 
dia-rubber woman, 

" Six feet high — 
Grand, epic, homicidal," 

who could travel over hundreds of miles of 
prairie on horseback, or follow the train for 
months on top of a baggage- waggon. 

Familiar intercourse with the most savage 
tribes of Indians was nothing to her I Human 
sympathy, food, or rest, were mere frivolous 
weaknesses, necessities of our fallen nature, 
which she banished from her high-strung mind. 
A strong energy of character sustained her 
through the direst emergencies, nothing could 
unstring her dauntless nerves. 

The allurements of dress, petty artifices, tears, 
or any other little feminine failings she scorned 
contemptuously! Tlie many minor ills of life 
she smiled at sardonically. 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 21 

"The regiment" adored her, and her children 
(if she had any) were embrvo soldiers, arrayed 
in military baby clothes, cradled in a disabled 
drmn, tucked in with a piece of " star-spangled 
banner," and teething on a drumstick. 

I saw her the witness of many a thrilling and 
gory scene, with the din of battle in her ear, and 
stern endurance on her brow. With this vision 
before my eyes, I enlisted " to folloAV the drum !" 

How many bright dreams of adventure, how 
much that was delightful and romantic in anti- 
cipation now opened before me ; all that was 
fascinating in peril in the wild life of the fron- 
tier, rose before my mind in strong and vivid 
coloring. 

The " worldly goods" with which I was 
endowed in Grace Church, the day of my enlist- 
ment, consisted of a mortgage on a camp- 
kettle, mess chest, bundle of canvas, and set 
of tent i)oles, which awaited me at a distant 
frontier station. Even these few luxuries 
!-eemed superliuons to so ardent a campaigner. 
How was I to live for my country, if I thought 
too m'lich of |>cri-:oiial comfort? the idea waa too 



22 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

trifling and effeminate to be considered for an 
instant; like the French princess, I felt equal to 
living on cake, in a dearth of bread and butter ! 

It is true my early training had not been a 
peculiarly Spartan preparation for endurance 
and hardship ; on the contrary, it would pro- 
bably have been regarded with stern disap- 
proval by those strict disciplinarians, yet this 
was more reason for feeling sanguine. 

"What is more impracticable than the antici- 
pations of youth? Invariably exaggerated — 
invariably disappointed. 

Those faded leaves rustling mourni'ully through 
the bleak autumn forests, are the same which, 
in early sj)riijg-time, put forth a delicate ver- 
dure, to gladden tlie summer with their beauty. 

So experience dimmed the roseate hue of my 
early day dreams, yet they have been suffi- 
ciently realized to tempt a record of them. 

The usual course adopted with recruits is, 
when a sufficient number are collected, to stow 
them away in the recesses of a dark old ship, 
and start them off, to be distributed among the 
different regimentrt in the field But having 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 23 

selected a particular arm of tlie service I was at 
liberty to join at leisure, in fact, allowed a short 
reprieve before going upon active duty, and im- 
proved the opportunity to revisit that mammoth 
trap, otherwise called West Point, where the 
couleur de rose of army-life serves as a bait for 
the unsophisticated, where reality wears the 
gloss of romance, and military glory appears in 
its brightest holiday dress, accompanied by all 
the poetry of war. 

Most delusive spot, where even the atmo- 
sphere seems heavily freighted with martial 
music and martial association. 

This was not the place to chill a military 
ardor, but rather to foster it to the utmost. 

Our young country, generally so barren of 
historical association, here presents a strong con- 
trast to that deficiency. Shades of departed 
heroes haunt each wooded mountain, and remi- 
niscences of 

" Those great spiiits, that went down like suns, 
And left upon the mountain-tops of death, 
A light that made them lovely," 

hallow this nursery of Bellona. 



24 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

Sculptured mouument!^, ruined fortiebs, and 
crumbling battlement, traces of a glorious past, 
eerve as beacons to guide the stripling soldier to 
a glorious future. 

Like a pilgrim at tlie shrine of Mecca, in 
after years I revhsit this spot, associated with a 
youthful admiration of a military life, and not 
even the dark "background of stern reality, that 
I had seen, could dim its loveliness. West 
Point, beautiful West Point, how bright are the 
memories of those who associate their " Love's 
Young Dream'' with thee ! 

I would gladly have transferred my newly ac- 
quired canvas and camp-kettles from Texas to 
this place, and pitched a tent here for life, had 
fate and the commander-in-chief so ordained ; 
but it was otherwise arranged by these mighty 
powers, probably for the reason that the best 
soldiers were needed on the frontier, the post of 
danger being the post of honor, as the flower of 
chivalry is proverbially placed in the van- 
guard ! 

The reprieve was longer than had been anti- 
cipated, and an indolent summer pa^ssed, before 



F L I. (J W I X G T U E I) K U M . 26 

orders for duty were received, lingering over 
the wild woodland beauties of Trenton Falls, 
and at that glorious indescribable Niagara, with 
a sail across Lake Erie to Detroit, then th^ home 
of General Brady (that aged warrior and veteran 
of eighteen hundred and twelve). Although past 
the allotted age of three score years and ten, he 
drove himself some miles to see, what he was 
pleased most poetically to term me, " a young 
pilgrim bound for the land of the Camanches." 
His fatherly benedictions were quite over- 
powering. 

Awaiting our return from Detroit, at Nia- 
gara, was a voluminous package from Washing- 
ton, having an alarmingly oflacial appearance. 
It proved to be the first orders for military duty. 
They were decidedly differetit from what had 
been expected ; instead of summons to " the tented 
field," they were instructions to proceed without 
loss of time to Burlington, Yermont, and there 
1o establish a recruiting rendezvous to enlist 
soldiers for Uncle Sam. Eather common-place 
business compared to what had been antici- 
pated. 



2f6 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

I knew Yermont by name, and that it waa 
painted green on the atlas at school ; there was 
a time when its cities, rivers, and mountains 
had b4en learned by rote, and repeated with 
the singular velocity peculiar to extreme youth, 
in happy unconsciousness of their real location, 
or anything definite in relation to them. Later 
in life I had heard casual mention made of 
" Yermont horses," and " Green Mountain 
boys," but here all knowledge on the subject 
came to a dead stand-still, and I felt quite 
eager for the hour to arrive, that would give me 
a clearer insight into this terra incognita. 

"We left Niagara immediately, took a steam- 
er at Queenston for Montreal, and after a de- 
lightful sail of twenty-four hours across Lake 
Ontario (which, in its vast expanse of waters, 
seems more like the ocean than an inland sea), 
we entered the waters of the St. Lawrence. 

The sail down its rapids is disagreeably excit- 
ing ; the boat seems threatened every moment 
to be dashed to pieces, as the pilot skilfully 
guides it through these perilous mazes. The 
river rushes impatiently, fretting over the bed 



F O L L () ^V I X G THE DRUM. 27 

of rocks wliicli impedes its course, until it 
readies its thousand isles, wliere it seems to 
pause, to flow lovingly around their beautiful 
banks. 

They are very beautiful ; some spreading out 
for miles in emerald meadow lands, and some 
only large enough to form the bed of a single 
forest tfee, their banks edged with long grasses, 
intermingled with wild flowers, drooping over 
and reflecting graceful fringes in the translucent 
waters below. 

At this point the river seems almost loath to 
pass on, and does so lingeringly,. until it gradu- 
ally widens into a broad, clear, majestic flow, 
wider and wdder, until it merges itself into that 
ocean, which at its outset it seemed so eagerly 
impatient to reach. 

Towards evening of the third day after leav- 
ing Niagara, we arrived at Montreal, where we 
stopped for a few days to rest. The un-Ameri- 
can air of this place is very striking. In some 
parts the streets are very narrow, which, com- 
bined ^vith the steep roofs of the houses, gives it 
the air of an old French provincial town. The 



28 F o L L o w I X a r ii !•: d r u m . 

inixtare of French and English inhabitants^ 
cDinniingling in their domestic habits the ens- ■ 
tonis of their native lands, makes a strange Jy(>^ 
pourri of manners. However, the peculiar 
characteristics of each seem uninfluenced by 
the other. It would seem as impossible for 
these two nations to amalgamate, as for oil and 
water to unite. The happy faculty of adapting 
one's prejudices to circumstances seems a pecu- 
liarly American trait, and may almost be re- 
garded as the national characteristic ; tlie 
result probably of the gathering together of so 
many nationalities under the out-spread winge 
of that responsible fowl, the Apis of this people 
One morning we went to the convent of '* Lef 
Soeurs Grises," and were shown all over the vene- 
rable pile by quite a pretty sister. In an exqui- 
site little Gothic chapel they were celebrating 
mass for the soul of a priest who had recently 
died. We paused at the door, and silently lis- 
tened to the swell of rich harmony that came 
rolling in deep volumes from the organ, and 
tilled the air with its full solemn cadence. St. 
Cecilia herself might have been touching the 



FOLLOWIXG THE DRUM. 29 

keys, so inspired tlie strains tliat were poured 
forth, first in the low, sad, praverfal plead- 
ings of fallen humanity, and then in the loud 
triumphant swell of '' the angels around the 
throne." 

Before we left, I asked our guide wliy she 
had become a nun. With downcast eves, and 
a sanctified smile, she replied, that " like Mary, 
she had chosen the better part !" Tlie " better 
part" is not always the pleasantest, I thought, 
if wearing a scanty grey gown, and being shut 
up for life within four stone walls, praying for 
the forgiveness of sins you never have a chance 
to commit, constitutes it ; and with these rather 
carnal reflections I passed out of the massive 
gates, fancying the heavy air that we left behind 
must have derived some of its oppressive influ- 
ence from the many sighs for libei-ty that had 
for years been borne on it. 

We left Montreal the next morning in the 
cars for Lake Champlain. ]^ot those miserably 
contrived cars filled with an indiscriminate 
crowd of males and females, arrayed in that 
brown linen uniform, the national costume of 



30 FOLLOWING T IT E D RUM. 

the travelling American people, where liigh and 
low sit side bj side ; where the dirty woman 
with a disagreeably large band-box, and the 
man who regales himself all too profusely on 
" plug," seem to vie which shall most contribute 
to your annoyance ; but the private European 
coupee, in which, at some slight difference of 
expense, a person can travel as if in his <>\\ u 
carriage. I have often been surprised, when 
suffering from travelling annoyances, that in the 
advancement of luxury these cars have never 
been introduced upon our railroads. 

Stopping at St. John's (the port of entry ot 
Lower Canada), a military station at that time 
unoccupied (its spreading, empty barracks look- 
ing very desolate, with no sounds of life to 
break the stillness around), we changed cars, 
and in a short time reached the wharf, and went 
on board the steamer that was to take us down 
Lake Champlain, to the point of our destination. 

This lake is celebrated even in our land^ 
so rich in the picturesque and grand, for the 
bold and beautiful scenery of its banks. The 
gigantic mountains seem piled in vast rocky 



F O L L O ^ I N Tx T IT E DRUM. 31 

masses, stretcliing from the water's edge inio 
the clouds, almost beyond sight, their shadows 
reflected in the lake, as in an aznre-tinted 
mirror. The sloping mountain sides, with deep, 
wild dells and waterfalls, and piles of fir-clad 
rocks ; tlie peaceful grain-decked valleys, with 
rivulets, and towns, and villages discernible 
among them, formed an ever changing picture 
of rural beauty. 

Towards afternoon we came in siglit of Bur- 
lington, situated on the banks of the lake, and 
nestling in the arms of lofty mountain ranges, 
still clothed in their primeval forests ; where 
the deer and wild animals yet hold possession, 
and are only intruded upon by the occasional 
adventurous huntsman. 

The bank on which the town lies, is high 
above the level of the water ; the lake, like a 
silver sheet glittering at its feet, spreads far 
away, till lost in the base of the mountains that 
surround it, and whose hundred streams feed 
its wealth of waters. 



^ 



F T. L O W I X (T T U !■: 1) }i IT >I 



CHAPTEK II. 



KECRUITING. 



To one wliose life lias been past?ed in the bus- 
tling, noisy din of a large city, where every- 
body that you meet in tlie crowded streets 
seems eagerly bent on tlie pursuit of some ob- 
ject that must be attained, if possible, before 
mghtfall ; where eitlier hope, or disappoint- 
ment, or harassing care is stamped on almost 
every face ; there is a novel charm in a sudden 
change to rural life ; a delicious serenity in 
the atmosphere of a country village, a re23ose in 
the calm movements of its inhabitants ; the 
shaded, impaved streets (cool in the heat of 
midsummer) ; the neat green courtyards, and 
nicely- trimmed flower-beds (from which the 
smell of pinks, and daisies, and cottage roses 
seems to breathe out " sweet simplicity "), that 
is almost incredible. 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 83 

Few signs of life or animation are to be seen 
ill those quiet cottage homes. Occasionally, 
perhaps, at the back door of the vine-shaded 
piazza, a placid old lady, seated in her low 
rocking-chair shelling peas, stopped for a mo- 
ment by the sight of a humming-bird too dar- 
ing in its demonstrations to the roses, or a stray 
fowl in the flower-beds. These will be the 
events of the day to her, in her quiet, unevent- 
ful existence. We smile at its quaint simpli- 
city, but perhaps a sigh of regret is mingled for 
a moment with our smile. 

I supposed that Burlington was one of those 
simple, unexciting little places, as in time it 
proved to be, but the first impressions were 
anything but calm or soothing, as early on the 
following morning I looked from the windows 
of the "True American," through a greenish 
pane of glass, and through a still more refract- 
ing misty rain. Under these depressing influ- 
ences I saw what appeared to be the most mise- 
j-able of " one horse towns." 

A square inclosed by a whitewashed wooden 
raib'ng, rendered a disagreeable grey by the 



34 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

rain, oi-iiamented witli a pole in the centre, STir- 
nionnted by one of the numerous and widely- 
diffused coiffures of the goddess of liberty, and 
surrounded by the principal stores of the place — • 
this formed the view outside, occasionally ani- 
mated by one of the damp, moist population, 
picking their way over the grass-grown brick 
pavements. 

The inside of the hotel was a degree more 
insufferable, and by way of rendering my gloom 
more pitiable, the well-meaning landlady pro- 
vided several "Lady's Books" for my amuse- 
ment, the contents of which, however, were 
Buch a reflection upon even the limit'ed capaci- 
ties of " ladies" that they gave only fresh cause 
for aggravation. A gentleman travelling for 
pleasure, who arrived there the second day 
after we did, was taken ill and died in the room 
next to mine, which incident, although perhaps 
tending to produce a salutary mental influence, 
was in no way cheering to depressed spirits. 

After a fair test of a week, spent in reflec- 
tions of the most gloomy nature on the iHs of life 
in general, and those of a life in Burlington in 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 35 

particular, it was decided that life at the '^ True 
American- ' was unendurable, and hy good luck a 
cottage was secured on the outskirts of the town. 
It was everything that could be desired ; the 
velvet lawn in front was green and closely sha- 
ven, rose vines clung gracefully around the 
porch, and not even a cynic could have ima- 
gined love contemplating a leap from the latticed 
window, or another grim visitor with his hand 
on the old-fashioned knocker. In the rear was 
a well inclosed with trellis-work, whose moss- 
covered buckets looked cool and tempting, sug- 
gesting, however, to a practical mind that new 
ones must be immediately obtained, in spite of 
the romantic charm thrown by the poet around 

" The moas-covered bucket that hung in the well." 

The only drawback to taking immediate pos- 
session of this attractive spot was the fact of its 
being quite devoid of furniture ; but we were 
told that this deficiency could be speedily re- 
medied, by a cleverish sort of fellow named 
Koble Lovely (which was literally his cogno- 
men). He was immediately applied to, and 



8^ FOLLOWING THE DRUM., 

after an incredible space of time spent in ask- 
ing questions, lie cast liis eyes around upon his 
household gods, and said : " Well, neow, what 
would jou think of a second-hand red plush 
sofj, and a yellow chanie spittoon to begin 
with?" This proposal was beyond human en- 
durance, and as these articles were not consi- 
dered absolutely indispensable in an unpretend- 
ing menage, it was deemed advisable to with- 
draw, which induced Mr. Lovely to speedily 
make the necessary arrangements ; and, to use 
the technical Yankee expression, " the bargain 
was closed," to the inexpressible delight of the 
shrewd and (not over) Xoble Lovely, who " real- 
ized quite a little considerable " in consequence. 
From the first I imbibed a strong dislike to this 
class. I do not think these feelings were en- 
tirely without foundation. 

In fact I may candidly confess, that I never 
could feel the necessary degree of enthusiasm in 
reference to our Kew England brethren, or their 
fundamental principles of the innate depravity 
of the Pope, intense sympathy for tliat colored 
" army of martyrs" south of Mason and Dixon's 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 87 

line, or the infallibility of the pilgrim fathers. 
On the contrary, I conceive the Pope may be an 
excellent good man, that those suffering and 
bleeding bondsmen may have an occasional ray 
of sunshine on their dreary path of life, and that 
the way in which the heroes of Plymouth Pock 
burned Quakers and eccentric old ladies was, 
to say the least, imamiable. 

We all, however, have our prejudices, in com- 
mon with them, and I suppose, would hardly be 
human without them. 

Six months, comprising the severest of the 
year, were passed in Burlington in ardent 
endeavors to add to the United States forces 
as many deserters from the ranks of her 
majesty of England, as could persuade the re- 
cruiting sergeant they were regularly dis- 
charged, and the doctor that they were " able 
bodied." 

They were a reckless set of men, generally 
under five-and-twenty years of age, a collection 
probably of black sheep from as many different 
families ; some of them well educated, and un- 
doubtedly of highly respectable parentage. I 



88 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

can give them the highest diploma for gal- 
lantry. 

In fact there seems to be something in a uni- 
form that calls forth this quality in its wearer 
in the highest degree. Apply a uniform to a 
man, and like a mustard plaster, it seems to 
draw all that is inflammable to the surface. 

One or another of the recruits was always at 
hand, and in turn they scoured the country to 
get anything that it was not easy to obtain in 
the town. I often pitied them as they flaunted 
about in their gay trappings (like sheep dressed 
for the slaughter), to think how soon their exist- 
ence would probably terminate, on some march 
across the prairies, in the sickly swamps of 
Florida, or on the perilous Indian scout, shot by 
the poisoned arrow of a Camanche or Sioux. 
Between them and the gamins of Burlington, 
there existed a continual feud. One of the re- 
cruits (whose bump of combativeness was so 
wonderfully developed that it kept continually 
knocking his cap off his head, unless he resorted 
to a strap) had to be sent off, so constantly 
were his pugnacious tendencies exhibited in 



FOLLOWING TFTE DRUM 89 

heading what he graphically termed "little 
heat ups " or " knock downs," between the con- 
tending parties. The soldiers were called U. S. 
males (mails) bj their opponents, who even 
went so far as to make distant allusions to the 
Serjeant's wife as a U. S. female. 

This remark was followed by an exciting row, 
which terminated in a series of mutilations and 
dark rims around the visual organs of most of 
the gallant recruits, a squad of whom were' 
forthwith despatched to Fort Cohimb us— among 
them, that troublesome but " hold soldier boy " 
with \\\Q annoying cap, who, it was discovered, 
hailed from Kilkenny, which most satisfactorily 
accounted for the excrescences behind his ears. 



40 FOLLOWING 1 H E D R C M 



CHAPTEK Til. 



BUKLINGTON. 



Startling incidents never occurred in Bur- 
lington. Kone ever had occurred there, and 
none probably ever will. The advent of a 
stranger was an important event, so few peo])le 
ever came there. A stray artist, or lingering 
traveller, fascinated by the shadows of the 
Adirondack, as they fell into tlie lake, or an 
occasional acquaintance passing through on tlie 
way from the White Mountains to Saratoga, 
were always welcome visitors. 

The most unfailing resource was driving aud 
riding. The beautiful scenery, the bracing 
October air, and the forest-clad mountains, 
arrayed in their autumnal robes of crimson, 
amethyst, and royal pui-ple, rendered out-of- 
door exercise peculiarly exhilarating and attrac- 
tive. 



F L L O W I X G THE DRUM. 41 

The term "Yermont horses" was soon after 
our arrival most potently realized in the pos- 
session of a pair of dapple greys worthy of the 
horse-flesh reputation of their native State, wdth 
arching necks, long silken manes and tails, eyes 
full of spirit, and feet that seemed to disdain 
the ground. To drive them was emphatically 
" driving a team !" They went miles and miles 
every day, like the wind, either in harness or 
under the saddle, and were the " Green Moun- 
tain boys" that left the deepest impression on 
my heart. Country pleasures are enchanting, 
if we can forget the more alluring ones of a 
civilized metropolis ! One of the most attrac- 
tive drives in the neighborhood is over a fine, 
well-beaten road to Kock Point, the picturesque 
residence of Bishop Hopkins, of the Episcopal 
church of this State. His place is beautifully 
situated north of the town, on a small promon- 
tory that stretches into the lake. It is a farm 
of some extent ; the drive from the gate to the 
house, of about a quarter of a mile, through a 
park and lawn (that owe much to Nature and 
little to Art for their woodland beauties^ is 



42 FOLLOWING THE DRUM 

quite imposing. Fine forest trees, scattered in 
groups, abound all over tlie domain. Tlie house 
is quite un]Dretending, but its situation is mag- 
nificent, commanding a view of the lake, and 
the town of Burlington in the distance, with a 
gorgeous background of mountain scenery, made 
up of the numerous bright lights and deep sha- 
dows peculiar to this region of country. 

The interior of the house bears impress of 
the home of the scholar and man of taste ; the 
library opening on a piazza by an enormous 
oriel window, from which, through clambering 
honeysuckle vines, you can enjoy one of the 
grandest pictures ever sketched by nature on 
earth's fair tablet. 

The walls (.)f the library are covered with 
paintings, the work of the artistic hand of 
Bishop H., who is generally to be found sitting 
in this room at his desk, writing tracts and 
religious essays for the press, to send forth into 
the world from his secluded home, like the 
sower of holy writ casting forth his seed. 

His tall athletic Ibrni, grey hair, somewhat 
stern expression of countenance and rigid views 



FOLLOWING THE BRUM. 43 

of life, reminded me of the apostles of old, or 
om- Huguenot fathers, who so readily sacrificed 
their worldly interests " for conscience sake." 

The autumn soon deepened into the gloom of 
November, the weather became cold and bleak. 
The around was strewn with fallen leaves. The 

" Wind, that grand old harper, smote 
His thunder harp of pmes." 

Soon the earth arrayed itself in a holiday 
attire of six feet of dazzling snow, the trees 
brilliant with icicles shone radiantly in the sun- 
light, and the hardy little snow birds, scattered 
over this brilliant carpet of the north, were the 
only vestige of the summer that had fled into 
the past — while the gay inspiriting sound of 
sleigh-bells seemed to give warning that the 
season for Christmas festivities was approach- 
ing. 

The morning after the first snow-storm we 
awoke in utter darkness, and found ourselves 
completely embedded in snow, which reached to 
the top of the second story windows ; but by 
noon eight or ten of the gallant recruits had cut 



41- F O L I> O \V I V G T H E D R U M 

a passage to the house, and removed the greater 
part of the snow-drift in which we had been 
buried alive. 

The sleighing was unsurpassable, but the in- 
tense cold of the frosty cutting air spoiled the 
enjoyment of it. At times exposure was next 
to impossible ; the thermometer fifteen degrees 
below zero was no uncommon thing. Any one 
who has passed a winter in the northern part of 
Vermont on the side of one of its bleak moun- 
tains, and on the shores of its great lake, would 
not be surprised that Sir John Franklin has 
never been discovered, but that any human 
being has ever returned alive from the arctic 
regions of '' Jack Frost." 

Christmas was heralded by sleigh-loads of 
evergreens driven towards the church, and even 
candies and penny toys made their appearance 
in the shop-windows to tempt this prudent race 
from their wonted frugality. 

The arrival of several American officers, de- 
tained here by a storm on their way to a court- 
martial, and the presence of several young Oa- 
nadiau guardsmen bound to New York for a 



F O L L W T X G THE P R U \f . 45 

"spree,'' tempted me to essay a Christmas-Eve. 
ball. 

The house was decorated with evergreens, 
and on truly republican principle there was 
not a pretty girl in Burlington who was not 
asked. 

On the appointed evening at about seven 
o'clock (sweet simplicity !) the guests com- 
menced to arrive. 

Two fiddlers and a drummer- boy, with a cold 
in his head, formed the band ; the ball termi- 
nated at midnight, proving a great success. 

It was however quite late in the small hours, 
before our officers and the " royal Canadian 
guardsmen" had drunk their last libation to the 
Queen, and " Jimmy Polk of Tennessee." They 
finally parted, with many promises of soon 
meeting again ; but in the army, such promises 
amonnted to an absurdity, for beyond 

" Wafts of soug 
From arm-linked youths as they meandered home 1" 



and severa-l card^ containing five oi- six aristo- 



46 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

cratic names apiece, we have neter heard from 
them since. 

A few months saw iis on the confines ot 
Mexico, while they were journeying towards 
the burning plains of India. 

One individual who figured on this occasion 
is worth a word of notice. A person represent- 
ing himself as an English gentleman, travelling 
in this country for amusement and information, 
had arrived in Burlington that autumn, and 
taken rooms at the hotel. Although not a par- 
ticularly attractive or agreeable man, he was 
not the opposite, and in dearth of other society, 
became quite a habitue at some of the most 
respectable citizens' houses. He had a dog-cart, 
horses, guns, and pointers, and professed to bo 
a great sportsman. He was very devoted in his 
attentions to a young Canadian girl, and a hand- 
some widow, who were considered by the public 
to be rivals, between whom this gay deceiver 
was wavering. 

He had had very extensive dealings with tlie 
bank, which at first imposed on the community, 
and then excited suspicion. One day he sud- 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 47 

deiily disappeared, and no traces of him were to 
be found, leaving his lady-loves disconsolate, 
and carrying with him qnite a sum of money 
that he had obtained by fraud. 

The following year he was traced to a seclud- 
ed western village, where a repetition of similar 
amorous and financial performances had render- 
ed suspicion certainty, and jfinally lodged him 
safely in a penitentiary, where he could expiate 
his rascality by the harmless pastime of hewing 
stone or making shoes. It is easy to picture 
him in the mind's eye, in a woven wool round- 
about and trousers, one yellow leg and arm, and 
one black, with a cap to match, pursuing the 
even tenor of his way on a daily meal of bean 
broth and ship biscuit, his conversation limited 
to an occasional whisper through the register 
tubes to the prisoner in the next cell, at the risk 
of a severe penalty for even this slender mode 
of communication with his kind. 

I never could define this j)erson's position ; no 
aspirated h betrayed the low-born Englishman, 
and, judging by his conversation, his education 
must liave been quite superior ; banking and 



48 F L L O W I X a T H K DRUM. 

the fair sex were evidently his weaknesses, and 
the rocks on which lie foundered. 

Yariety is to life what rum is to an omelette ; 
it gives it piquancy, or to be still more original, 
it is its spice ; and at the time I thought, if I had 
stayed at home, I never should have come in 
contact with that peculiar specimen of ornitho- 
logy yclept a jail bird. After events, however, 
proved that candidates at least for this position 
were not so rare, even in a I^ew York drawing- 
room, as the unsophisticated might suppose. 
'' He who runs may read !'' 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 49 



CHAPTER ly. 



In January orders arrived from Washington 
to break np the recruiting rendezvous at Bur- 
lington, and join the fii*st regiment of United 
States Infantry at Ringgold Barracks, Texas, on 
the Lower Rio Grande. 

After tlie arrival of a dispatch of this nature 
from the War Department, there is no time al- 
lowed to pause and reflect. Prompt obedience 
is the first lesson a soldier must learn. 

" Theirs not to make reply, 
Theirs not to reason why, 
Tlieirs but to do and die.'" 

So, after twenty-four hours' notice, we quitted 
Burlington for ever, passing down the lake on a 
dismal winter day, the steamer breaking with 
difficulty through fields of ice that blocked its 
passage to Whitehall, where we were detained 



50 F U L L O A V I N G T HE D R U M . 

several lioiirrf, waiting for the nortliern train r>f 
cars tliat was to convey its to Albany. Wliite- 
liall lies at tlie foot of Lake Cliamplain, in the 
State of 'New York. During the short time 
!<pent there I saw^ more specimens of the genus 
loafer than I had imagined could exist — from the 
grey-haired, seedy, dock habitue, to the stinted, 
half-starved, little object, who seemed hardly 
large enough to hold the cigar in his mouth, 
which he affected to enjoy extremely, although 
it evidently disagreed with him. 

One importunate vendor of illustrated news- 
papers, about a foot and a half high, with gar- 
ments so wonderfully ragged, that if once taken 
off they could never by any possibility have been 
put on again, tried every inducement he could 
conceive of to tempt purchasers into the expen- 
diture of sixpence. 

One man, to get rid of him, said he did not 
know how to read. '^ JBiot you can look at 
jpicters^'' said the indomitable young merchant, 
and his shrewdness secured a customer ! 

I knew instinctively that he came from Yer- 
mont, and had been tauo^ht in one of its district 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 51 

Bcliools to count liis pennies as soon as he could 
talk, and that the chief end and aim of man's 
existence was to accumulate " York shillino-s." 
I thought it quite probable that fifty years 
hence would see him " a merchant prince," roll- 
ing in wealth acquired by this same " business 
tact ! " As has been frequently before remarked, 
we are a great and wonderful people ! 

The principal public buildings at Whitehall 
seemed to be railroad depots and refreshment 
saloons, a sight of whose edibles was anything but 
refreshing. Trains of cars leave here for every 
point of the compass, and in consequence news- 
paper and lozenge boys " here most do con- 
gregate," and successful pickpockets revel in 
rifled items. 

There is here a large, well-built Catholic 
church, and the money that should have gone 
legitimately towards patching the elbows and 
cobbling the shoes of the vagrant inhabitants, 
had evidently been used to pay penance for 
their numerous sins. 

The cars took us that evening to Albany, 
that most respectable of Dutch Reformed cities, 



52 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

whose more venerable inhabitants have lost so 
few of their honest Dutch prejudices against 
modern innovation ; yet who does not regret 
that their quaintly gabled homesteads are yearly 
becoming rarer, and their crumbling moss-grown 
gravestones, and great family bibles with brass 
clasps (reverently preserved), are all that is 
left to tell of the Diedrichs and Johannas, and 
their fair-haired Katalinas, who came there a 
hundred years ago, from the ITetherlands ? 

On arriving in E'ew York we found a further 
reprieve, by which we were spared the disagree- 
able necessity of being accompanied on a trans- 
port ship by two or three hundred valiant re- 
cruits, who, as the sequel proved, indulged 
themselves on the voyage by the exciting pas- 
time of a mutiny, which resulted in the shooting 
of that chivalrous recruit who had caused so 
much excitement and trouble in Burlington. 
He recovered, however, from his wounds, and 
became afterwards an excellent soldier, who 
has probably ere this 

" Met a foemau worthier of his steel' 

than his commanding officer. 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 53 

Tlie departure for Texas was delayed until 
the month of April, when we sailed in the 
steamship " Ohio," bound for E"ew Orleans, via 
the Havana. Its gallant commander (com- 
manders are always gallant, or ought to be) was 
so kind to me, that I would add a j)ublic eulogy 
to the many private ones I have pronounced on 
him, if it were in good taste to do so. His in- 
variable kindness and good-humor were almost 
a cure for sea-sickness, that most doleful of all 
the maladies which flesh is heir to. 

There was on board a very agreeable and 
amusing party, and in the informal intercourse 
of a sea voyage the time passed rajDidly. 

The only drawback to its pleasure was the 
slight one of being totally deprived of '' balmy 
sleep," by a nightly row in the opposite state- 
room, not at all propitious to the cultivation of 
" nature's sweet restorer !" It was occupied by a 
family of (two or three dozen, I should think) 
small infants, under the charge of an old black 
" aunty," who was kept in a continual state of 
excitement^ all being sea-sick at the same time : 
and to the daily inquiries of the head of the 



54 FOLLOWING THE D K U Tvf . 

family after their progress, I heard tlie inv^aria- 
ble and discouraging reply of ^' sick, massa ! all 
hands ! " 

We were a good deal in sight of land, and 
kept in view the shores of Maryland, Delaware, 
and the Carolinas. When off the coast of Flo- 
rida we came near enough to land to see the 
wreckers at work on a large ship, that had been 
abandoned by its crew. 

These wreckers are a miserable, unprincipled, 
ignorant race, who live on the sea-coast, where, 
on account of its peculiar formation, accidents 
are very numerous. Their only means of sub- 
sistence depending upon the losses and misfor- 
tunes of their fellow-men, they seem to be the 
last traces left, in North America, of the buca- 
neer or sea-robber race. 

The same afternoon, some hours later, in pass 
ing the reefs, we saw a brig with its flag of dis- 
tress up. Our captain ordered the small boat 
to their relief, and they soon landed on our deck 
fifteen passengers, besides the crew ; they were 
all Spaniards, who had left Cuba but a few days 
before, with a cargo of sugar, bound for Spain, 



F O L L W I y G THE DRUM. 55 

bi^t were obliged, at this early period of their 
.voyage, to abandon their ship and cargo to the 
mercy of the wind, the waves, and the wreckers, 
and were soon landed by us at the Havana. 
We were now wifhin the cnrrent of the Gulf 
Stream. 

That night of moonlight on a southern sea ! 
It seems a dream in reti'ospect. 'The moon min- 
gled its soft light with the balmy delicious air 
as it arose, and faintly illuminated the still blue 
waters ; while spicy odors from the shore told 
that it was Cuba that lay before us, stretching 
in that misty, indistinct line in the distance. 
Cuba, that beautiful gem of the Mexican gulf, 
whose breath is fragrance, whom N"ature seems 
to have chosen (in one of her most prodigal 
freaks) to have showered with all the rarest and 
most precious of her gifts. 

Later on that night, i^right and luminous 
above us, rose the Southern Cross, emblazoned 
in characters of gold upon the deep ground- 
work of the midnight sky. 



56 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 



CIlArTEE V. 

THE TKOPICS. 

* Yet ^\\h me from the harbor's mouth, 
Wild wind ! I seek a warmer sky, 
And I will see before I die 
The palms and temples of tlie South." 

Tennyson. 

The next morning we awoke in full siglit ot 
the island of Cuba, and by ten o'clock a.m. had 
dropped anchor in the harl)or of Havana (said 
to be the finest in the world). 

Who will ever forget their first impression of 
the tropics ! The rich emerald of the Inxuriani 
verdure, the glowing, rosy tint of sky and sea 
and the delicious, dreamy softness of the air! 
Tlie palm trees, in full relief against the warmly- 
tinted skies, call to mhid the loves of Paul and 
Yirginia. Breathing the atmosphere seems like 
reading a chapter from the Koran while 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 57 

" In every change of earth and sea, 
Breathes the deep soitl of poesy." 

The battlements of Moro Castle, apparently 
rising abruptly from tlie sea, tlie spires and 
brilliantly-colored palaces of Havana, glittering 
in the sunlight of a summer morning, the back- 
ground of the mountains of Sierra del Cobre, 
studded with country-seats and picturesque ham- 
lets, formed a picture at once novel and strik- 
ingly beautiful. 

After the usual preliminaries, and a most 
ceremonious visit from the Spanish authorities, 
who came in a brightly-decorated barge with 
striped red and white awnings, and the Spanisli 
flag in the stern, manned by twenty liveried 
oarsmen, only surpassed in the gaudy taste of 
their dress by the officers, whose uniforms, rib- 
bons, and stars seemed mucli more abundant 
than the occasion required. They finally as- 
sured themselves that we were only a peaceful 
set of travellers, and not an invading army of 
filibusters. The passports were duly made out 
and paid for, and then these worthies departed. 
It was no great deprivation to lose sight of their 



58 F O T. L O W T X G THE D R IT Yi . 



\ 



ngly, swarthy faces, tliat beamed with anjiliiiig 
but benevolence or beauty. 

Finally, we passed down the ladder at the 
vessel's side to the boat that awaited ns, were 
rowed swiftly to the shore, and landed on a 
dock, piled with sugar barrels and boxes, on 
which reclined groups of negro slaves in the 
lightest possible attire, wdiile others were load- 
ing and unloading cargoes. 

Many younger scions of Africa were loitering 
about, who proved, by licking the sides of the 
molasses barrels, that the propensities of youth 
are alike in all climes and among all races. 

In Havana, garments, like discretion or expe- 
rience, come with age ; they are quite unknown 
to the yonnger portion of the inhabitants. 

"We soon found ourselves in a hotel, quite no- 
vel in all its phases to the untravelled Ameri- 
can. Saloons paved with tesselated marble, 
and shaded by blinds to a cool twilight ; the 
windows open to the floor, and latticed with 
iron trellis-work, looking out on a court-yard 
luxuriant with tropical verdure ; the windows 
have no sashes or olass to shut out from the 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM ^^0 

interior the lightest breath of sumii er. The 
massive front doors of all the houses are orna- 
mented with iron bars, made to stand attacks 
from without, so continually do the upper classes 
live in dread of revolution and assault. Divans 
of cane- work and rocking-chaii-s seem to be the 
principal articles of furniture. 

^Ye were almost immediately shown to a 
room, floored with brick, and provided with 
iron furniture, on the way up obtaining a large 
bunch of exotics, bought from a young negress 
flower-girl, who was seated at the head of the 
stairway. 

At dinner, the table was piled with rare flow- 
ers and fruits, and the " imprisoned sunshine" of 
the golden hock, and crimson claret, round the 
miniature icebergs in the " flowing cup," with 
the piles of pineapples, bananas, pomegranates, 
and nectarines, seemed entirely to take from the 
stern reality of roast beef. In fact, the meals 
here reminded me of the tea-parties which Mil- 
ton describes, as given by Eve to her angelic 
guests in the beautiful bowers of Eden. 

After dinner comes " the siesta," and the): 



60 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

the recreations of the day commence. A dress 
of muslin, sans chwpeau^ is sufficient protection 
against the weather, and all that cnstom exacts 
for the " toilette" of an afternoon drive. 

The volante, the vehicle of this country, is at 
the door before six o'clock. To those who have 
ridden in them, a description would be super- 
fluous, and to those who have not, it will be 
almost impossible. Its lazy motion as it moves 
along hardly disturbs the soft atmosphere. 

Oar volante, hired by the day during our 
short stay, was the property of a Cuban noble- 
man, who had retired to his country-seat among 
the mountains, and left it and his coachman in 
town, to be hired by strangers. He must pro- 
bably have been " hard up," judging by this 
proceeding, but this is merely a natural surmise. 
It was " got up " in most gorgeous style, and in 
the gaudy. taste peculiar to Spanish-Americans. 
Its body, what we would call a tilbury on a 
large scale, the toj3 shifting, the pole double the 
length of one of our ordinary vehicles, which 
consequently leaves quite a space between the 
body of the volante and the huiIgs that draw it. 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 61 

Tliese latter were fat, and beautifullv groomed, 
and trapped in gold and crimson cloth, one of 
them being ridden a la postillion by the driver. 

The Cuban " whips " are in themselves quite 
a stud}^ A jacket, a la Grecque, of crimson cloth, 
embossed with gold, falling open and exhibiting 
a gailj trimmed vest, and linen edged with deep 
lace ruffles, tights, and top boots, inlaid, and 
finished round the top with gold fringe, and a 
cord and tassel of the same. A beaver hat, wi'th 
a broad gold band and cockade, complete their 
stylish outfit. 

Tliese liveries are always gay, sometimes ele- 
gant, and at times bordering on the grotesque. 

A volante, with all its charms, would be as 
much out of place in a city of the United States, 
as a trotting waggon and pair of fast horses 
w^ould be at the Plaza de Armes of Havana. 

Our first drive embraced a great deal. It 
first took us through the town, towards the sub- 
urbs; it was the hour of evening vespers, and the 
chimes were tolling out their call to devotion. 
The Spanish donnas, in their black lace veils, 
holding rosaries in their hands, followed by 



62 FOLLOWING THE DBUM. 

negro slaves in livery bearing their prayer- 
books, looked very picturesque. 

In some places tbe streets are so narrow, tliat 
opposite neighbors conld shake hands from the 
windows, if so inclined. 

I^egresses, selling bouqnets and bnnches of 
loose flowers, spread ont in tempting array in 
large flat shallow baskets, which they balance 
gracefully on their heads when they walk, are 
to be seen in all directions sitting at the corners 
of the streets, where they display their beautiful 
articles of merchandise. 

There is, I was told, quite a large free co- 
lored population in Havana. Here you often 
meet with the genuine native of Southern 
Africa, caught from the wilderness by the slave 
trader, but a few years before. 

If we could compare these brutal animal fea- 
tures, and lack of all intellect, to the " Uncle 
Toms" and "Aunt Chloes" of our land, we 
might be convinced that from one point of 
view at least, slavery might be regarded as a 
blessing instead of " a curse." 



F O L L O ^V I N G THE DRUM. 63 



OHAPTEE 71, 



HAVANA. 



A DEivE to tlie ''Bishop's Garden" through 
the suburbs of Havana, seemed like shifting 
scenes from fairy land. Beautiful villas skirted 
the road on either side, some of a pale blue 
color, some rose, and other delicate hues of 
stucco, surrounded bj gardens beyond descrip- 
tion lovely — while delicious 

" Odor was upon the breeze, 
Sweet thefts of rose and lemon trees." 

We could see directly through the houses 
(the doors and windows being open and latticed 
with iron) into the gardens in the rear, where, 
among fountains and arbors, children with their 
attendants were scattered in every direction. 

On each piazza were long rows of Yankee 
rocking chairs filled with dififerent members of 
the family, rocking slowly backward and forward, 



64 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

producing a very absurd effect, and giving a gorvci 
idea of the enervating habits of the inhabitants. 

Some of the nobility live in a style of eastern 
magnificence, with an enormous retinue of 
slaves in attendance. 

When we arrived at the bishop's garden we 
alighted at the entrance. It was the former 
residence of the Roman Catholic bishop of 
Cuba, about five or six miles out of the 
city. The house had been destroyed by a 
hui-ricane some 3- ears before, but the ruins still 
remain. We entered these beautiful domains 
on foot, leaving our volante at the entrance. 

How can I find words to describe the over- 
whelming surfeit that this garden gives to the 
sense of the beautiful ; every tropical plant and 
tree grows in unprnned and wild luxuriance. 
Cape jessamine hedges, japonicas, tea-roses, and 
passion f^owei'S, in profusion. I remember one 
of these latter vines, running up the side of a 
giant mahogany tree, its foliage of deep green, 
bright with blossoms, waving about its branches 
like a richly gemmed drapery. 

We saw here the remains of a former zoolo*ri- 



r O L L O W I X G THE DRUM. Qo 

cal garden, at present but poorly maintained. 
Among other novelties was an alligator, but my 
preconceived ideas of tliis animal, gathered from 
the graphic pen of Peter Parley, who paints him 
and the duplicity of his character in such vivid 
and fearful terms, made my visit to him of verv 
short duration. His terrible jaws and deceitful 
expression of countenance, seemed fully to 
justify all the censures that his various bio- 
graphers have bestowed upon him. 

The birds were very attractive ; their bright 
plumage of various shades of lemon and rose 
color, and their graceful forms, were beautiful 
even to an ignorant person, wdiose dim recollec- 
tion of their Latin names and classifications was 
almost disgraceful in these palmy days of the 
general diffusion of knowledge. 

Several negroes w^ere here at work with balls 
and chains attached to their ankles, which 
served the purposes of anchors ; they were con- 
victs, who were thus employed by the govern- 
ment, to keep the grounds in order, their sole 
attire a jupon of about a foot long, resembling 
a scanty ruffle, around the waist. 

4 



66 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

Magnolia, pomegranate, and pine-apple trees^ 
coffee, tobacco, and sugar-cane, were growing 
in tli6 open air. Everything that we are only 
used to see in dried specimens, in stores, or on 
the table, here grew, as the most hardy grain 
does in onr climate. 

Simple existence is enjoyment in this deli- 
cious atmosj)here, so balmy the air, so exquisite 
the perfume wafted on each breeze. Yet, like 
the whitened sepulchre, within all is corruption. 
A tarantula or scorpion lies in ambush under 
many a lovely blossom, and the breath of 
" the pestilence that walketh in the noonday," 
is mingled with the perfumed breeze that is 
wafted over this beautiful '' gem of the ocean," 
this waning " lone- star" thai })leads through its 
silent and crushed people to join our constella- 
tion. 

To the Cubans the word freedom is a mockery ; 
the suspicious and vigilant watchfulness prac 
tised by the Spanish authorities is almost in- 
credible to us. 

It must be the impulse of every generous 
heaii:, who gains the merest insight into the 



FOLLOWING THE UK U M . 67 

dreadful system of taxation and oppression, 
suffered by the inhabitants of this colony of 
Spain, to become a filibuster in feeling if not in 
principle. 

The people are eagerly listening for the 
watchword of revolution, and it is the earnest 
wish of all but tlie emissaries of the Spanish 
throne, to see Cuba enrolled in onr union. 

Philanthropy more than aggrandizement 
should be our motive for its annexation. 

In returning from our drive, as we passed 
along, " the light from alabaster lamps" in the 
interior of the houses, mingling with the soft 
i-ays of the moon outside, lighted up the gar- 
dens and the porches, and gave a subdued effect 
to the surrounding country. As we approached 
the town, and entered the Paseo de Isabella, 
the gas-lights began to glimmer from the city, 
the marble statues shone pale and ghostly in 
the moon's light, and the glistening flowers, 
laden with evening's dews, sent forth an odor, 
with which the air was heavily laden. 

This Paseo, called after the present queen- 
mother of Spain, is ornamented by her statue, 



68 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

taken in cliildhood, tlie innocent expression of 
its soft infaiitile features bearing bnt little im- 
press of the characteristics which now (lis- 
ting aish that royal lady. 

It is a miniature park, laid out in drives and 
foot-paths, and ornamented with flower-beds, 
fountains, marble seats, and statuary. 

The opera-liouse (which at this season was 
closed), a sumptuously furnished cafe, and some 
of the magnificent palaces of the aristocracy, 
front this Paseo. 

After lingering here awhile, we drove to the 
Plaza des Armas, or Champs de Mars, fronting 
the residence of the governor, a marble palace 
surrounded by a garden, in the centre of which 
was a colossal fountain, surmounted by a statue 
of one of the numerous Sj^anlsh Ferdinands. 

On the opposite side of the Plaza the govern- 
ment buildings and barracks are situated. 

Every ca- ening the military band plays in front 
of the governors palace for several hours. 
Spanish soldiers lounge about with their insepa- 
rable cigaritas, wliile the officers pay tlieir 
devoirs to the various donnas, seated iu their 



F O L L O ^V I X G THE D R TJ ^vl . 69 

volantes, wlio come liere to see their iicf|naiiit- 
ances and listen to the band. 

Tiiey appeared to me very coarse, with 
swarthy skins, and inclined to embonpoint. 
However, by such a mere casual glance, it is 
liardly fair to judge on so delicate a subject as 
personal beauty. 

Tlie populace, divested of their squalor by the 
magic of the moon's light, were picturesquely 
grouped around, while the exquisite flood of 
Italian music that swelled on the soft air, 
through the hum of the audience, seemed even 
more beautiful than such melody invariably is. 

The German school of music is certainly very 
beautiful, and profoundly scientific ; and that of 
France and Switzerland, inspiriting and gay ; 
but the strains of Italy seem to breathe the 
passion and poetry of its sunny clime, and 
appeal more directly to the heart and sensi- 
bilities. 

The ice-cream saloons or cafes of Havanna 
are a favorite place of resort on the summer 
evenings. The principal one was very attrac- 
tive ; a cool fountain in the centre, throwing 



70 F T. L O W r X G THE DRUM. 

np a single jet and falling in a million sparkling 
drops on a collection of rare flowers and shells, 
which lay surrounding its base, and glittering 
with spray, as if set with so many brilliants. 
The ceiling was open, and far beyond could be 
seen the skies, faintly illumined by the moon, 
and gemmed with innumerable stars. Scattered 
over the tesselated marble floor were marble 
tables and seats, and marble pillars supported 
the arched and frescoed walls. The ices are 
yery poor, and have only their coolness to 
recommend them. 

All foreigners that visit Havana consider it 
incumbent on them not to leave there without 
purchasing a pine-apple handkerchief and a 
Spanish fan (generally manufactured in Paris), 
and in consequence the hotel is hourly besieged 
with numerous venders of these articles. Among 
them I observed more than one Yankee; this, 
however, is universally the case where trade is 
pushed with any amount of vigor. It is said 
that the day after the city of Mexico was taken, 
and^ entered in triumph by General Scott and 
his victorious army, 3ne of this enterprising 



F O T> T. O \V T N G T H E DRUM. 7 1 

race set up a gentlemen's furnishing store, next 
door to the halls of the Montezumas, and put 
out placards advertising " gents' patent arm- 
slings,'' and " the only genuine gunshot- wound 
pain exterminator," warranted to cure at short- 
est notice ! There was at the time naturally a 
great demand for these articles, and if that son 
of jSTew England did not " realise'^ something it 
was owing to no lack of effort on his part. 

We visited a cigar manufactory, and saw 
"the weed" in every variety of form, and in 
every stage, from the original article, fresh from 
the fields, to the crisp little cigaritos, lying 
together in tempting bunches, and tied with 
yellow and crimson ribbons, in boxes labelled 
"Santa Kosa," "Opera," &c. &c. They were 
soon to be outward bound from their native 
land — destined to fill the pauses of life to many 
a club lounger, to accompany reverie, and impart 
bliss generally to tlie happy mortals into whose 
possession fate might throw them. 

The markets of Havana at this season were 
naturally attractive places ; one department 
for flowers, fruit, and birds, was very interest- 



72 F L T. W I N G THE DRUM. 

iiig and reiVesliing, attended entirely by re- 
gresses. 

■ Tlie object that most attracted my attention, 
and left the deepest impression on my mind, 
while in Havana, was the tomb of Christopher 
Colnmbns, the discoverer of this island. IS^early 
four centmies have passed since then. It was 
within the last of these that his remains w^ere 
removed from Spain to one of the minor West 
India islands, but found a final grave in Ha- 
vana. 

This fair young world that revealed itself first 
to his enraptured vision, seems a more fitting 
resting-place for its discoverer than ungrateful 
Spain or the land that gave him birth. 

He had always been one of my favorite 
heroes, and I had loved to dwell on his almost 
inspired career — the high- wrought enthusiasm 
that led him to imagine it his mission to dis- 
cover a ISTew World — that glowing ima^na* 
tion that was but the pioneer to great deeds. 
Impelled by fate to the performance of this work, 
to execute it in spite of the conflicting influ- 
ences, at first of discouragement, and then of the 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 73 

mutiny of his shrinking and treaelierous com- 
panions; totally unsympathized with by these 
terror-stricken men in the yast unknown deserts 
of ocean ; yet, in spite of their threats, urging 
on his frail bark, and finally landing in safety 
on the Kew World's shore — one of the snb- 
limest triumphs ever afforded to man, borne 
with nnparalleled modesty ! 

Tliere is no combination of character so ad- 
mirable, to my mind, as that whicii unites prac- 
tical common-sense, strong energy, and firmness 
of purpose with a glowing and enthusiastic 
imagination. 

A mind that can disregard the misrepre- 
sentations and discouragements of an unjust im- 
appreciatiye public, manfully figlit its way 
through adyerse circumstances, smiling at the 
follies of a w^orld that misunderstands it; con- 
fident in a conscious truth and honesty of pur- 
pose, pursuing a steadfast undeyiating course, 
uninfluenced but by its preconceiyed ideas of 
right- — 

" That pure high constancy which flies right on, 
As swerve less? as a bullet, to its mark ;" — 



7 1. FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

coming out eventually at tlie end of its career, 
like a glorions sunset at the close of a clouded 
day, supremely beautiful, eliciting unasked and 
universal admiration. 

The tomb of Columbus is situated on the 
Plaza des Armas, surrounded by trees. The 
monument is plain and unpretending, bearing a 
basso-relievo likeness of the great discoverer, 
with an inscription in Spanish — 

" To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world." 

Brief yet ample sentence ! 

" The world was cold, 
And he went down like a lone ship at sea. 
And now the fame that scorned him while he lived 
Waits on him like a menial." 



F L r. W I N G THE DRUM. 75 



CHAPTEE Yll. 



NEW ORLEANS. 



"We left Havana with many regrets. In the 
few days passed there, enough of its beauties 
and pleasures had been tasted not to satiate. I 
left it with all its dreamy and indolent beauty 
deeply impressed upon my mind — 

" Flowers and rills live sunnily 
In gardens of my memory," 

but none in more vivid coloring than those of 
Cuba. As its palm-trees, that had brought with 
them so new and delightful a sensation, passed 
from my sight, I felt that with them a dream 
had vanished ; a bright scene had passed by in 
the panorama of existence. 

Two more days at sea, and we arrived where 
the dark and murky waters of the Mississippi 
empty themselves into tlie blue waves of the 



76 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

]\[exicaii Gulf. At this point the dividing line 
of the waters was distinctly visible. 

The scenery as the boat entered the principal 
channel of the Mississippi is peculiarly dreary 
and desolate. Tlie sea-board on either side is 
covered with miles of low swampy green salt 
plains, with lagoons, or natural canals, cut in 
every direction. Tlie river pours itself into the 
sea, through three passes. I suppose the reason 
why it is called the " Father of Waters" is, be- 
cause it has so many little mouths to feed ! 

We paused at the mouth of the river for a 
few moments to take in the pilot, whose hut, 
situated on one of these dreary plains, seemed a 
concentration of all that was desolate. Nothing 
can be more dreary, solitary, or devoid of all 
life, than these wastes of marshy, low, flat lands 
— no vegetation but salt meadow grass in sight. 
A strange place to choose out of the whole 
world for a home, and yet there were children 
clustering around the door-steps. To its master 
it probably did not bear the dreary aspect it 
did to the passing traveller. So differently in 
life do we form our estimates. 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 77 

"We spent the day on deck watcliing tJie 
negroes on ei ther side of the river at work in the 
sngar-cane and cotton-fields — the overseer on 
horseback riding to and fro among them. The 
negro cabins seemed comfortable, neat, and 
admirably adapted to the climate and their 
wants. The tall chimneys of the sugar dis- 
tilleries rose np against the sky, with clouds of 
smoke issuing from them. Then the pleasure- 
grounds, gardens, and house of the planter, the 
piazzas supported by graceful pillars, and orna- 
mented with urns, filled and running over with 
creeping plants, with terraces of roses and 
flowers of varied hue, and children on the lawn 
with tlieir sable nurses, whose saffron-colored 
bandannas bloomed brighter than any blossom 
around. 

The morning air was soft and delicious, the 
waters danced and sparkled in the sunlight, 
while the shores were bright with verdure and 
human beings. The negroes singing at their 
work presented a picture of contented industry 
that would rpiitc liave amazed the Duchess of 
Sutherland, and other less illustrious but quite 



78 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

as philanthropic ladies, who need not come aa 
far as they do to find food for their surplus 
sympathies. 

Late in the afternoon the Crescent City came 
in sight, and towards evening we found our- 
selves landed and established at the St. Louis 
Hotel, which, since the burning of the St. 
Charles, has been the famous hotel of the South- 
West. The planters along the river generally 
come here on a visit everv winter, brino^ina: tlieir 
wives and daughters to enjoy the gaieties of this 
great metropolis. Bridal parties are wonder- 
fully numerous. 

Tlie men at the St. Louis employ their time in 
drinking juleps and other beverages in the great 
rotunda of the hotel, which apartment is a gor- 
geous affair, most sumptuously fitted up, the 
centre terminating in a lofty dome, which lights 
it from above through stained glass windows. 
Here, over various descriptions of drinks, the 
principal business of the city is transacted, cotton 
sold, sugar bought, fortunes made and lost — 
enormous gambling transactions, looked upon 
with leniencv by the world, and called business. 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM, 79 

AVTiile the men are enjoying the delights of 
this luxurious bar-room, the women employ 
themselves in dressing elaborately several times 
a day, and sitting in the gorgeous and extensive 
drawing-rooms, forming quite a study for a sj)ec- 
tator, from the exquisite Parisian quiet of some 
piquante Creole to the flashy, exaggerated finery 
of a "Western village belle. As in almost all 
public assemblies in this newly forming world, 
ignorance and bad taste predominate. 

From hotel life more can be seen of ;N"ew 
Orleans society than in other cities. A 
stranger can form no definite idea from it alone ; 
but judging from an evening's insight at a 
soiree musicale at the British Consul's, I should 
imagine it was very elegant in its tone. 

The Creole women dress beautifully ; their 
mode of coiffure is a study, rich glossy masses of 
hair rolled around their heads in classic and 
artistic style. 

The only drive of any importance in the 
neighborhood of ISiew Orleans is the Shell Eoad, 
which terminates at Lake Ponchartrain, where 
the steamers start for Mobile. This drive offers 



80 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

but few attractions ; a canal runs on one side, 
and a ditch on the other. It is a great resort 
for ''fast" men (for which New Orleans is cele- 
brated), who hei-e run their horses at large. 

The canal serves the double purpose of drain- 
ing a neighboring marsh, and navigation. In 
fact, the whole surface of the land is, in a great 
measure, a marsh. At the cemetery, when thev 
dig down two feet for a grave, thej come to 
water. It is found necessary to use iron boxes, 
and bury the dead above ground, in brick graves 
like a Dutch oven. 

There is a dull unprogressive aspect about 
everything connected with Xew Orleans — there 
seems to be a stagnation in public spirit. The 
habit of lounging and drinking in bar-rooms pre- 
vails to a feai'ful extent. All the principal 
public buildings are the work of Government. 
There seems to be but little private enterprise, 
which must be from the effect of the enervating 
climate and the continually fluctuathig state of 
the market, which is at times in a state of wild 
chition. and, l>y an overflow of the river, may be 
reduced, in tw«.'i)ty-rMur hour.-', to a state of uttwi 



FOT, LOWTXG THE DRUM. 81 

and hopeless depresBion, closely resembJiig the 
varying spirits of the Micawber family as 
described by Mr. Dickens. 

There is little reason to wonder that men, 
brought up under these peculiar influences, should 
become enervated, and more prone to louxjge at 
then* ease, than devoting a steadfast energy to 
patriotic improvements and the conquest of 
adverse circumstances. 



82 F '-) L L o w r X G T n v: p r u m . 



CTlArTEK YIIL 

FIRST GLIMPSE OF TEXAS. 

After a delay of nearly two weeks m our de- 
parture for Texas, the moment at length arrived 
for going on l>oard the steamship " Globe," 
bound for Brazos Island, at the mouth of tlie 
Kio Grande, by way of Indianola and Gal- 
veston. 

I dreaded starting, and, as the last moment 
approached, clung to the bare comforts of a 
hotel in a strange city^ in preference to embark- 
ing on the treacherous sea that lay between us 
and our destination. 

Tlie ship was an old disabled shell that had 
been already condemned as unsafe, and in the 
trip follow^ing the one w^hich landed iis safely 
was stranded, and went to pieces on a sand- 
bar, all the crew and passengers perishing, 
the captain alone barely escaping with his life. 



FOT, r, o^vTxa tur drum. 83 

He clang to a spar until lie lo.st his conscious- 
ness, wlien, as lie neared the shore, a propitious 
wave dashed him up high and dry on the beach, 
where he w^as found. He told me afterwards 
that death would have been preferable to the 
well iutentioned but agonizing process that was 
adopted to bring him to life — namely, that of 
emptying the salt water from his mouth by 
holding him suspended by the feet, and letting 
it pom' out gradually ! 

The commander, Captain Thompson, was a 
splendid specimen of the rough and fearless 
sailor, a genuine hero of the sea, bold, skilful, 
a thorough seaman in appearance as well as in 
mind and soul, with " a soft heart under a rough 
jacket." His nights at sea w^ere sleepless with 
watchfulness, and a bare bench on the hurri- 
cane deck his only couch. 

The shores of the Gulf of Mexieo, and its 
myriads of rocks, shoals, and sand-bars, were as 
familiar to him as the shifting nature of the 
latter could make them. 

In the past year he has found an untimely 
grave under these treacherous waters. During a 



84 FOL LOWING THE DKUM. 

dreadful storm liis ship went down, not a soul 
living to tell where or how. 

Our sail down the Mississippi from New 
Orleans was spent, on deck, and was rather plea- 
sant, but towards night, when we got into the 
Gulf, the ship began to toss among the short 
sharp waves, and I was shown to the "ladies' 
cabin," where a shelf a foot wide was pointed 
out as my 'bed. Affairs began to assume an as- 
pect anything but pleasant. I was too sick to 
sit up, yet could not reconcile myself to the idea 
of the shelf, but increasing sickness left no alter- 
native. I closed my eyes to shut out the scene 
of dreadful squalor and confusion around, which 
sickened the very soul. Families of emigrants 
lay about on piles of trunks and boxes, all 
blessed with numerous young children, who 
cried, screamed, and were sea-sick incessantly. 
I never can forget that wretched night. I seemed 
to lie in a trance, wondering if I was myself or 
some one else, so unlike was the scene to any- 
thing my imagination had previously pictured. 
It seemed a little glimpse of Pandemonium ! 
The next morning I was removed, half dead, to 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 85 

the captain's room on deck, in a state of wretch- 
edness more mental than physical, the steward- 
ess with really kind feelings remarking, as she 
assisted me, that I " was like a young bear with 
all my troubles yet to come !" 

It is a great era in our lives when we first 
begin to realize that " life is earnest, life is 
real !" The feelings of relief were overwhelm- 
ing on obtaining possession of the unpretending 
little apartment which was kindly proffered for 
the rest of the voyage, far away from all those 
dreadful fellow-passengers.* 

After a sail of three days, we stopped at 
Galve^on, Texas, one of the principal ports of 
the State ; here we put off a large portion of 
^our passengers, who were emigrating into the 
interior. The main object of emigration to this 
State is of course for agricultural purposes. 
There are a very superior class of emigrants 
pouring into this portion of Texas, from the 
older States, tempted hither by the rich, luxu- 
rious, easily-cultivated soil of this well-named 
garden of the South- West. 

Too much cannot be said of the temptations 



86 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

of settling here ; it is only in the south-west- 
ern portion, on the borders of the Kio Bravo 
del ITorte, or the Eio Grande, that the 
country seems stricken by a blight, and the 
vegetation becomes meagre and scanty beyond 
belief. 

We stopped for twenty-four hours at Galves- 
ton, and a cessation from sea-sickness, combined 
with a comparatively cool, pleasant day, made 
us hail with pleasure the idea of spending it on 
shore. 

The country presetited a flat sameness of 
aspect, and the town a growing appearance, in 
spite of the signs of new7iess that pervacj^d it ; 
frame houses and cottages, surrounded by gar- 
dens, evidently just laid out ; streets regularly ^ 
marked off into blocks ; some good stores, and 
quite an extensive hotel, with churches of seve- 
ral denominations, form the foundation of a city 
that promises a fine and rapid development. 
We arrived from the ship at the hotel just in 
time for dinner, and were quite surprised at the 
unwonted display of table-napkins and turtle 
Boup — two unlooked-for luxuries ! Experience 



F L Ti O W I X G THE DRUM. 87 

60on proved that the former were an especial 
compliment to the fair sex, who ail over Texas 
are regarded with great honor and considera- 
tion. A gentleman, nninitiated in the customs 
of the country, asked for a napkin, and was 
informed by a likely yellow boy, " Only pro- 
vided for ladies, sir." 

I noticed several of these honored ladies at 
table, arrayed in the tasteful costume of black 
bareire over white, and enormous colored breast- 
pins ; their toilets reminded me very strongly of 
the baboon's sister in nursery tales, described as 
wearing " a dark black frock, and green glass 
breastpin." !N"one of them, however, excited 
my spontaneous admiration. 

After dinner was over I went to my room for 
a siesta, and while there, amused myself reading 
some of the printed rules by which the house 
was regulated. To assist those whose business 
it is to render comfortable the travelling public, 
I will copy one or two of them — viz. " Gents 
requested not to spit on the walls !" also to 
" Keep their boots off the bed clothes !" I hope 
I shall not shock any one's refinement beyond 



rJS F (J L L U.W ING THE DRUM. 

recovery by repeating these regulations, but as 
tliey were there in print, it must be that " beings 
do exist," to whom such warnings are deemed 
necessary ! 

I amused myself after dinner by conversing 
with a crowd of young, round-eyed, woolly- 
headed darkies, whose teeth shone like rows of 
ripe Indian corn on the cob, and who, in spite 
of being as wild and timid as prairie hens, w^ere 
induced by a small bribe to pour out in chorus 
some of the sweetest music I ever listened to. 
Their clear, fresh, mitutored voices, blended in 
perfect harmony as they recounted, in spirited 
verse, an exciting raccoon hunt in better time 
than the best drilled choruses I had ever heard. 
An exquisite ear for music seems to be the 
peculiar gift of the negro. They were the pro- 
perty of an old Virginia planter, who had sold 
his plantation in his native state, and with his 
sons and sons' sons, and their united families, 
slaves, and household property, were emigrating 
to Eastern Texas, to settle on the Brazos river, 
where he had bought land, and was going to 
found a new home for himself and his descend- 



F O L L O ^V I N G THE DRUM. 89 

ants. The whole family came with us from 
New Orleans in the " Globe." One day I sat 
near the old father on deck, and struck by his 
venerable patriarchal appearance, and quaint- 
ness of manners, for my private edification 
entered into conversation with nim. He gave 
me a great deal *of valuable information in 
regard to the land to which he was bound, and 
finally asked " Misses, whar was you raised ?" 
I told him in ISTew York. " It's an aioful 
sinful place," he groaned out, " and was your 
man raised thar too V — leaving me very much 
in doubt whether he thought there could be 
any future hope of salvation for a sinful mortal 
" raised" in this modern Sodom ! 



90 FOLLOWING THE P R U M 



CIIAPTEK IX. 

GALVESTON, TEXAS. 

Towards sunset of the afternoon tliat we passed 
in Galveston, a light wagon and a j^air of mus- 
tang ponies were provided for us, as this flou- 
rishing settlement even boasts of a livery stable, 
so far lias civilization advanced. 

They gave us the best " turn out " they had. 
Oificers of the army, being the representatives 
of government, receive the most uniform cour- 
tesy and respect all over the South and West. 

We first drove through the town. About the 
whole place there seems to hang a shade of 
melancholy, which may be imaginary, and in 
reality unconnected with it, but it is with in- 
voluntary thankfulness that I say " my lot has 
been cast in more pleasant places." There is 
but little animation in the streets, and we can 
almost imagine ourselves in a settlement of 



F L L W I N a T TT E D T? U l\r . 01 

exiles, so few signs of life are to be seen. How- 
ever, we often judge of a place by the tone of 
our minds wliile there, and if these feelings can- 
not be laid aside, it is hardly a fair test. 

We leave the town behind, and crossing about 
a mile of chapparal or j^r^ii'ie land, reach the 
beach ; a beach that throws that of ISTewport, and 
others that we have seen, far, far into the shade. 
It is twice their width, and can be driven on for 
a day, without meeting with any impediment. 
The only marks of life we see are an occa- 
sional fisherman's temporary hut or shed, on 
that part in near vicinity to the town; and 
further on, swarms of wild ducks, cranes, and 
other kinds of wild fowl, as well as clusters of 
mammoth turtles, in which way we easily ac- 
counted for the soup at dinner. They lay bask- 
ing in the hot sand, apparently enjoying life ex- 
cessively in their own way. 

How meagre, how insignificant, do all the sea- 
side scenes painted on memory seem, in com- 
j)arison to this vast and apparently interminable 
extent of wave-beaten sand with its glorious 
breakers, and their sad eternal moanings. The 



92 FOLLOWING THE DRUM 

mustang ponies seem inspired to do their best, 
and go like the wind, on, on, miles and miles, and 
yet before iis apparently the same vast extent 
of beach, the same breakers, the same flock of 
storks, wetting their long beaks at the water's 
brink, startled by onr im wonted intrusion on 
the solitudes, so long alone devoted to them, 
their predecessors, and the murmurs of the "sad 
sea wave " — on, on, nothing but grandeur, sub- 
limity, and God — not a sound of humanity. 

Sermons and essays are not half as beneficial 
in their effects as sermons and lessons born of a 
strange wild scene like this. The sky, the sand, 
the " wild sea foam," the salt chapparal stretch- 
ing in the opposite direction over the fiat lands, 
are all that the eye finds to rest upon, except the 
delicate shells and sea-weeds that lay strewn in 
profusion on the beach, toys that the wearied 
mermaids have cast aside after having wreathed 
them for pastime in their dripping locks. 

At last the sun goes down beyond tlie sea, 
and then in its full beauty rises the moon. 
Round, full, and beautiful, it rises with a peculiar 
beauty on the scene we have just described, 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 93 

casting no shadows, for there are no rocks of 
uneven ground to foster them. It lights the 
sand, tind tinges the waves with silver, as our 
horses turn their heads homewards. We were 
very loath to go, and confess to having " on this 
occasion only" felt very sentimental under the 
influence of so much beauty, but e dolce far 
niente is most potently realized in moonlight on 
a southern sea, and makes a little weakness of 
this kind the more excusable ! AYe will even 
confess to having been guilty, in the recesses of 
our own heart, of quoting some poetry in re- 
ference to 

" Those melancholy tears, 
Which come when all most bright appears, 
And hold their strange and secret power 
Even on pleasure's golden hour." 



"The sea, scarce nmrmuring, slept in peace, 
Though full of glory bright as noon, 

Which through the clouds — a sUvery fleece — 
Gushed down from the resplendent moon. 

Melted in blue the distant flood. 

Like jewels gleamed the sparkling ?>and- 

Oh, what in such a silent night 



94 F O L L O "W T X Q T IT R D R U M . 

Will tiu-ougli i\\~' liiur.nii l.osoni throng, 
Was never felt by day's broad light, 

"Was never told in earthly song. 
A breath, mysterious, seems to creep 

From Heaven upon the tranquil au* 
A vision o'er the soul to sweep, 

'Tis half a smile and half a tear." 

It seemed a place to linger in for ever, but had 
this wish heen gratified, we fear a S]3eedy reac- 
tion wouid have taken place from this quite 
high-flown state of enthusiasm, and in time we 
should have longed for a human habitation, and 
to see the wild ducks in a pate, as well as many 
other small items of civilized life. That evening 
we left Galveston, with a glimpse of its melan- 
choly beauties impressed on the pages of memo- 
ry, like the trace of a sad and misty dream. 
At earliest dawn next morning we set sail, and 
at noon landed at Indianola, where we put 
off the remainder of our passengers. But few 
ever go further south in Texas, unless they go on 
especial business, or by orders of government. 
Those unconnected with the latter, or with mer 
cantile houses, seldom find their way there, 



Ti' O L L O W T X G THE IJ R L' M , 95 

The passciigor>s for liRliaiioia, and tlieir iinnie- 
roiis articles of property, were conveyed to the 
shor^, some distance, in small boats, as, from 
the peculiar formation of the harbor, it is peri- 
Ions for ships to enter in. Two more days at 
sea bronght onr old, leaky vessel in sight of 
the island of " Brazos St. Jago " (the arm of St. 
James), and fonnd ns most perilonsly lodged on 
a dangerous sand-bar in sight of land, where 
the vestiges of wrecks around seemed to warn 
us of wdiat might be our fate, and of the death 
and destruction that looked us in the face. For 
six houi's we lay in the breakers, with the calm 
blue, sunlit heavens, smiling down upon us, 
singular accompaniments for a wreck at sea, 
and yet w^e knew well that half the devasta- 
tions around us had taken place under the same 
cii'ciimstances, and not in the midnight storm 
or under a clouded sky. The weaves, as if from 
a whirlpool beneath, dashed upon the ship, 
striking us fearfully each time against the bar, 
producing a terrible shock, that seemed like 
warning from heaven of coming fate. Tlie cap- 
tain and crew labored most manfully at their 



96 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

duties, but every other voice was hiislied with 
eager anxiety. The scene around inspired any- 
thing but hope of reaching land in safety, and 
assistance of small boats from the shore experi- 
ence had often proved impossible. Tlie sea 
around the vessel moaned " like a monster 
pained." We sat all these hours on the deck, 
mechanically watching the sea gulls dipping 
their wings in the water, and the porpoise as it 
gave a leap throngh the air to plunge again, in 
an instant, into the wave. When death comes 
face to face w^ith us unexpectedly, no matter 
%vhat our horror of it may be, it is strange how 
indifferently w^e can look it in the face. Dur- 
ing these frightful hours we traced with a glass 
countless wrecks that lay around. From the 
bar on which we lay to the shore the w'ater was 
shallow, and only navigable for small boats. 
The harbor is filled with bars, wdiich are con- 
tinually shifting their position. This peculiarity 
is what renders it so perilous, and causes so 
many lives to be sacrificed in sight of land. 
Every imaginable vestige of wreck lay around, 
from the giant mast of some enorjuoii-s ship to 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 97 

that uf the smallest trading schooner. All this 
gave to the barren, sandy shores, an air of 
gloom and desolation that words cannot de- 
scribe. Our few fellow-passengers awaited with 
us in earnest watching to see what would come 
next. My Irish Abigail alone broke silence, by 
ejaculations to the Yirgin, in a brogue which 
was a painful jar to every one's feelings, and 
had I died there it would have been as a sin- 
cere and disgusted Know ]^othing ! 

Towards afternoon, when the excitement of 
hope had been subdued by the almost certainty 
of our worst fears being realized — with one 
bound and a loud glad shout of exultation, we 
were pushed across the bar, and at last safely 
cast anchor inside the harbor. In her next 
voyage, the Globe went to pieces on this same 
sand-bar, not a soul on board, except the cap- 
tain, escaping. It now forms another vestige of 
a wreck to add new dreariness to this gloomy 
scene. The small boats were launched, and we 
were soon landed on the government docks of 
Brazos Island, where are a number of large 

wooden buildings, containing ammunition and 
6 



98 F o r. I. o w I N Ct the drum. 

yanonsgovorninent stores oi* provisions, clothing, 
&c., to be forwarded to answer demands from 
the various military stations on the river above. 
The quartermaster and his family reside here, 
and we stayed at his house. That afternoon we 
spent with him in a row-boat fishing for our 
snpper ; we caught a number of blue-fish, and 
of course cat-fish^ as they are tlie especial luck 
of all amateur fishermen ! We caught nothing 
difterent from what we have at the north. 
Towards night as we went homewards over the 
moonlit waters, the cool breeze from the sea 
amply rewarded us for our unwonted exertions. 
That evening we sat on the piazza and saw 
the lights glimmering from Point Isabel, which 
lay directly opposite us on tlie Texas shore. It 
will be remembered as the scene of some of 
General Taylor's most important operations. It 
contains a few houses around Fort Polk, a field- 
work thrown up by Genei-al Taylor's troops, at 
the commencement of the war. Between Point * 
Isabel and Brownsville is an overland route 
of about twelve miles. Shell Island and Palm 
Island, both occupied by a few inhabitants, lay 



F O L L O W I X G THE 1) R T M 99 

before us in the sea ; Brazos Island looks like a 
bleak, barren sand-bank on a pretty extensive 
scale. In the year 1815, before Texas became 
a State of the Union, the Mexican government 
passed a law, that no one should attempt to 
settle here, as on several occasions, when such 
attempts had been made, a terrific storm had 
suddenly sprung up, and, dasliing on the shore, 
had swept away every vestige of its inhabitants 
and their property, without leaving a trace behind 
of human habitation. It is now many years 
since such a storm has taken place, so that they 
have almost entirely passed from the memory 
of the present inhabitants of these regions. 
Government has run quite a risk in braving a 
repetition of one of these terrible and devas- 
tating storms. It may lead to a too tardy regret. 
The present limited population are principally 
the employes of government at the store- 
houses, and fishermen who supply the Browns- 
ville market with bass, red and blue-fish, and an 
inferior kind of oyster, which is nevertheless 
regarded as a very great delicacy in the absence 
of others. I was very much amused at a new 



LOO FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

species of hotel that I saw there ; it was formed 
of the wrecked hull of an enormous ship that 
had been cast ashore in a storm, and was firmly 
wedged in the sand. It had been repaired and 
rendered weather-proof by the mud and mortar 
generally made use of for building purposes in 
these primitive regions. A bar-room and eat- 
ing-room formed the principal apartments, with 
several sleeping-rooms of limited area adjoin- 
ing, which were the accommodations of the 
boarders. It was kept by an old woman and 
her pretty little granddaughter about twelve 
years old, who was receiving an education to 
fit her for the responsible situation of bar-maid 
to this " Hotel (vraiment) Texan." We passed 
one afternoon and night on Brazos Island, and 
the next day started for Fort Brown, adjoining 
the town of Brownsville, Texas. 



FOLLOWING THE D 11 V M . 101 



CHAPTEE X. 



BRAZOS ST. JAGO. 



At ten o'clock the next morning the govern- 
ment carriage or ambulance was at the door, and, 
bidding farewell to our host, we again resumed 
our journey. The day was warm, but a cool 
breeze came from the sea, and the sun kindly 
shut out its hottest rays from us by a screen of 
clouds. The first part of the drive lay along the 
seaboard of Brazos Island ; no rocks, nor the 
smallest traces of vegetation could be seen in 
the hot sand ; there was nothing to vary the 
monotony of the scene but vestiges of wrecks 
of all descriptions, remains of ships and schoon- 
ers, that when gaily launched, brightly painted, 
and colors streaming, were looked upon with 
pride by their commander and crew, who little 
thought they would, ere long, be utterly dis 
abled, at the mercy of tempestuouf winds, 



102 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

cast on tlie bleak shores of a barren island, or 
stranded on the treaclierons sand-bar. 

Frequently were we compelled to turn aside 
from our path ^o avoid some mammoth black- 
ened mast that lay imbedded in the sand, im- 
peding our way. Tlie horses dragged for seve- 
ral miles, slowly and wearily, through the heavy 
sands, till we came to the creek " Boca Chica" 
(little mouth), which separates Brazos Island 
from the main land. Here the horses were 
taken from the ambulance, which was then 
towed across the creek by the flat-boat, that 
served for ^ ferry ; it then returned for the 
horses, and finally for the passengers, making 
three tedious trips, while I sat on a dressing-case, 
in the sand, patiently watching the operation. 

Th^ flat-boat could not come quite up to the 
dry land, so there were about twenty yards of 
shallow water to be passed before we could get 
to it. To my amazement I soon found myself 
being borne through the air like a baby in the 
arms of a great stalwart Texan (he being knee- 
deep in the water), until safely lodged in the 
boat, on a large Mexican poncho that their gal- 



F O L L () \V I N G T ir K PR U M . 103 

laiitiy liad provided. The creek was vver a 
quarter of a mile wide, and was a good deal 
swollen at this season by recent rains. When 
we arrived at the other side we were obliged 
to wait there a while to rest the horses. We 
went into a kind of rancho, or hut, to sit 
down. It was the home of the boatman and his 
wife, who resided here, and the only house fur 
miles around ; it appeared very loneh^, even to 
a transient guest, being on the banks of the 
creek, with nothing but sand and water in sight. 
The interior was quite spacious, and was divided 
into apartments by rough canvass or sailcloth 
curtains. All the surroundings, however, to 
an eye unaccustomed to " roughing it," bore 
an aspect of misery and abject suffering. When 
on our way home we again stopped liere, this 
wayside hut, with a roof over it, appeared 
(comparatively speaking) really a comfortable 
abode, we had seen so many worse ones. 

In a convei"sation with the woman who lived 
here, she told her history (whicli was but slightly 
more eventful than that of Canning s Kuife- 
Grinder) ! 



101 FOLLOWING THE DKUM. 

Tlie ''halcyon days" of lier youth had been 
passed principally on the canal. Since that she 
had lived in all parts of the Western States, and 
finally had . reached this barren spot, on the 
confines of civilization. She bore the traces of 
some former beauty; her eyes were very sad, 
and so was her smile. I asked her if she Avas 
not lonely ? she said that peace was enough to 
satisfy her, and she had that where she was. 
Her chief occupation was raising chickens for 
the Brownsville market. She showed me a 
brood of fifty, with one old hen, all crowded in 
a bandbox, and kept on a shelf, to keep them 
from running in the creek, she said. By the aid 
of plenty of meal and a scanty supply of light 
and air, she assured me she raised the fattest 
chickens in market ! but I should not have 
cared to eat any of these extra plethoric or 
dropsical poultry ! 

By the time the investigation of this natural 
phenomenon was finished, our horses were rest- 
ed and at the door awaiting us. We bid our 
hostess farewell, and proceeded on our way. 

From this point we struck a north-westerly 



'I 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 105 

direction towards Brownsville, crossing a beau- 
tiful cliappara], which, owing to an accidental 
irrigation from the overflow of the river above, 
formed a spot of verdure but seldom seen in 
this region of country. It was thick with flow- 
ering shrubs and wild flowers. Each scraggy, 
ebony tree lodged in its branches myriads 
of brilliant tropical birds, whose sweet-toned 
melodies filled the soft air that floated around 
us, with music. Another hour's drive took us 
to the borders of the Kio Grande or Kio Bravo 
del l^orte, a still, monotonous stream, that 
flowed sluggishly along, its muddy waters giv- 
ing, however, a refreshing sensation to the tra- 
veller on its almost invariably parched and arid 
banks. 

The first impressions of this river reminded 
me of the descriptions I had read and imagined 
of Egypt and the Nile. It only wanted a few 
swarthy, turbaned men, and a sphynx or two, 
to complete the illusion. 

As we left the banks of the river (which, in 
its winding course, struck far away from our 
more direct road to Brownsville), we came on 



106 F O L L O AV I N G THE DRUM. 

to the ground which was the scene of the battle 
of Palo Alto, situated on a tract which nature 
seemed designedly to have thrown up for the 
purposes of a drill ground. This formation is 
not, hc)wevcr, as consj^icuous in this region of 
country as it might be in another place ; for the 
whole surface of the land is laid out in low, 
sand}^ ridges, the vegetation stinted, and the soil 
scanty. The cactus and other plants indige- 
nous and peculiar to a sandy soil, grow in luxu- 
riant beauty. Occasionally relics of the battle 
are picked up, but there remain few traces to 
tell of '' war's alarms." The oriole boldly lights 
on the low flowering bushes, knowing no fear 
in these rai-ely interrupted solitudes, where the 
sounds of the wiklerness alone break the still- 
ness of the air. The contrast of this peaceful 
scene with the previously conceived idea of 
this famous battle-field was very striking. It 
had been associated with the sound of booming 
guns, gallant charges, and groans of wounded 
and dying men. 

Many tliat I had known, treading with mar- 
tial step the romantic plain of West Point, liad 



FOLLOWING THE DKUAI. 107 

here found a soldiers grave, among the unl'or- 
gotten dead. The high beating pulse and ear- 
nest aspirations of early manhood stilled for ever, 
in an instant, by the shot of some cowardly 
Mexican, who probably shuddered with fear as 
he pulled his trigger — for they are a nation of 
poltroons, and more afraid of their own fire- 
arms than any one would readily believe. 
How many have thus 

"Poured their life-blood freely out^ro lono 'publico^''^ 

with the simple satisfaction of dying in the dis- 
charge of duty ; while, too, many a neglected 
mound, on distant spots like this, is all that 
remains of those — 

" The young and strong, who cherished 
Noble longings for the strife, 
By the road-side fell and perished." 

It seems almost a disgrace to think of the many 
forgotten graves of brave and noble men that 
lie scattered everywhere. The glory conferred 
by them on their country seems to demand 
Bonie better return. The blood-stained hills 



108 :rOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

and valleys of our land are the ruby jewels in 
the crown of her greatness. And if we fail to 
mark those spots where heroes fall with tablets 
that tell of their gallant deeds, it is not only 
wronging them, but wronging generations yet 
unborn, by allowing them to forget how pre- 
cious the purchase-money that bought their 
freedom. 

Our horses paused here to allow us to take 
luncheon, which, when it came to be unpacked, 
consisted of a cold beefsteak and bread, wrapped 
in a newspaper ; anything but a tempting re- 
past, and, although famishing with hunger, I 
politely but firmly declined participating in it. 

About three miles before we came to Fort 
&own we passed a deep ravine, the scene of 
the battle of Kesaca de la Palma (the field of 
palms), which could not have taken its name 
from any of these trees, as there was not even 
one specimen to be seen. It was here that Ge- 
neral Taylor achieved his second victory over 
the Mexicans, under General x\rista, in the late 
war. The sensations here were a repetition of 
the above, so it is needless to recapitulate, 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 109 

"When we are hungry we grow less enthusiastic, ■ 
and even patriotism cools down to a mere mat- 
ter of fact sentiment. 

We saw several ranches in the distance, but 
none near enough to form a very definite idea 
of them or their belongings. 



110 FOLLOWING THE DRUM, 



CHAPTEE XI. 



FORT BROWN. 



Soon we drove in sight of Fort Brown, ana np 
tlie principal street of Brownsville to the gates 
of the garrison. The aspect of this cnrious, 
lialf-breed town, was very noveL It is what 
tliey call in Texas " qnite a settlement." A 
mixed population of Americans and Mexicans 
formed a contrast at once striking and amnsing. 
On the one hand the red brick stores, and 
white frame shops and buildings of every de- 
scription, bore the marks of inevitable progress, 
or go-aheadativeness, otherwise called " mani- 
fest destiny ;" while the rudely constructed huts, 
or hackals, composed of rustic straw work, or 
mud bricks called adobes, in which there is 
generally but one apartment, where frequently 
are fomid five generations living together, ek- 
ing out an indolent existence on a mild diet of 



FOLLOWING THE D R U ^t . Ill 

ground corn, egg^, and milk, exhibited nnmis- 
takable evidence of a vanishing people, who in 
a few years will know no nationality. 

These Mexicans lead a truly j)riniitive life, 
reminding us of "shepherd days'" in young 
world's history. 

In one of the huts, built on four posts, 
with thatched straw walls, I witnessed on one 
occasion, with mingled horror and amusement, 
quite a new phase in harler-ism ! It could not 
be called hair-dressing, yet might be regarded 
as a peculiar species of shampo(»ii]g. 

An old crone seated on a wooden bench, was 
cleansing the locks of a small child, Avhile a 
young girl performed the same kindly offices for 
the old woman — the whole party talking and 
laughing merrily. 

Further description, or even a shade more 
minuteness in detail, would be impossible. Suf- 
ficient to say, the perforuuiuce had moi*e vitality 
connected with it than is usually disj^layed by 
Mexicans. 

Yermin are the scourge of this country, and 
cleanliness certainh not one of its virtues. This 



112 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

portion of the world may be set dowm as the 
birthplace of the flea ; those found in other 
parts are merely occasional wanderers from this, 
their native land ! Here they roam at large, 
the torment, par excellence, of the human race, 
ixi consequence of which carpets are eschewed, 
as they are apt to furnish a resort for scores of 
fleas, as well as other vermin of tlie country. 

Cane furniture, matting, and the indispensable 
mosquito bar, are the only articles in general 
use ; anything more elegant seldom reaches 
here, and is not required. 

We found at Brownsville quite a respectable, 
well educated class of Americans, who gave an 
entertainment while we were there, in honor of 
certain strangers in town. The Mayor called to 
invite the oflicers of the garrison of Fort Brown, 
and their families, to the soiree to be given at 
" the Gem," the principal cafe of the place. Of 
course we accepted the in\ itation, went at nine 
o'clock, and found the affair had commenced 
already. A fine band of stringed instruments, and 
a certain air of deference and respect in the man- 
ners of the men, were something I liad not ex- 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 113 

pected to find. Tlie waltzing was very grace- 
ful. Several Spanish ladies from the old Mexi- 
can city of Matamoras were present, who seemed 
to swdm in the graceful, languid motion of the 
deux temps, as if they had never heard of the 
hopping of the polka and redowa, which rather 
frantic style of dancing certainly seems better 
adapted to the Jardin Mabille, or some grisettes' 
ball, than to the dame comme il faut. 

Wall-flowers are an unknown shrub in this 
part of the country ; the men have too nmch 
gallantry to allow them to flourish, even if acci- 
dentally transplanted here from colder climes. 

I had once doubted the existence of those 
mythical beings called ''nature's noblemen," 
but my stay in Texas relieved my mind from 
all uncertainty on the subject, for I found no 
lack of polish and courtesy, although the coun- 
tiy is so newly settled. 

The site now occupied by the government 
grounds of Fort Brown belonged formerly to the 
estate of a Spanish nobleman, and had been in his 
family for years. Consequently some fine trees 
are srrowangin the neighborhood, as it was once an 



114 F O L L U AV 1 N a THE D K U M . 

exquibite garden, tilled witli jjlaiits and irrigated 
from the Eio Grande, by means of stone aque- 
duct!^, jiow falling into decay. Traces of a beau- 
tiful artificial lake, with an island in its centre, 
still remain, and also a ruined summer-house, 
with luxuriant vines creeping wherever they can 
lind a support to cling to, as the pillars that 
they once clambered over have probably long 
ere ^this lighted a tire, to cook some rancliero's 
meal, or floated do\vn the sullen waters v\^ Ihe 
Rio Grande. In 1848 Brownsville contained 
but two houses, or rather shanties ; two years 
after, it had four thousand inhabitants, was laid 
out into sti'eets, with a number of brick build- 
ings, and a tine market-house, wdth a large pub- 
lic hall above it. It is duly incorporated, and 
now has a mayor and other municipal officers, 
and a weekly newspaper. 

Its population has not very materially increas- 
ed bince 1850, owing to the unsettled state of the 
frontier, from the Indians and tilibuster warfare. 
A considerable trade is carried on wdth the inte- 
rior of Mexico, and in time of disturbance 
bnmggling is practised to a. great extent. 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 115 

The rush of furtiiue-huuters to OaliforiLic^ 
gave so wide a veut to the enterprising, that it 
prevented the increase of the population of 
Brownsville that would otherwise have taken 
place. 

Thirty miles east of the town is a lake, from 
which large quantities of salt are annually ob- 
tained. 

In 1852 when we were there, there was no 
church, and but one preacher. This individual 
was a wandering Presbyterian, who after having 
collected an ample subscription from the people, 
for the purpose of building a church, invested 
it in a parsonage, built on a lot of his own ground ! 
and after safely lodging in it his wife and a 
dozen or more of his pious offspring, began mak- 
ing preparations for another collection, to build 
the church. This time, however, the people of 
Brownsville, seeing that he acted so entirely on 
the principle of " charity beginning at home," 
were more wary, and the church remains un- 
built to this day. I have since heard that the 
Episcopal church has sent a minister there. 

"VVe were detained several weeks in Browns- 



116 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

ville on account of tlie non-arrival of " the Cor- 
vette " (the government steamer), and dr ing 
that time received every kindness and hospitality. 
The further you remove from civilization, the 
more warm-hearted the persons you meet seem, 
and hospitality, like contentment, gives charms, 
even to "a dinner of herbs." This is easily 
accounted for. In a large community, there are 
80 many calls on our sympathy and good will, 
that, naturally, they cannot be responded to as 
heartily as in a place out of the world, where 
such demands are more rare. 

"We made a good many excursions about the 
country. One clay we crossed the river, and 
spent a day at Matamoras. This place is- asso- 
ciated with the siege of Fort Brown, during the 
Mexican war. Its old stone dwellings, and ca- 
thedral, whose cracked chimes float daily on the 
evening and morning air, with its heavy masonry 
and antiquated air, seem to bear us back to past 
centuries M-hen the Spaniards brought from gor- 
geous Spain some of the attributes of regal gran- 
deur, and planted them in the wilderness of a for- 
eign land. Members of some of the noblest fami- 



FOLLOWIXG TllK DRUM. 117 

lies of Spain founded liouses here, whose des- 
cendants greatly pride themselves on their long 
line of ancestors, and the antiquity of their 
family reminiscences. The present race of 
Spanish-Americans have lost almost all the 
fire of their native land, and form a nation 
which by itself will probably never attain a 
very proud eminence in the world's history. 
Annexation to our union is all that can ele- 
vate them, although the advantage would be 
greatly on their side, as it would not add either 
to the glory or material advantage of Uncle Sam. 
Petty revolutions furnish them with an appa- 
rently unwearying excitement, and the conse- 
quence is, an utter Lack of all progress, and a 
general aspect of desolation and decayed splen- 
dor. The men are generally a diminutive race, 
and to a refined mind there is something almost 
repulsive in their dark, swarthy, unintellectual 
beauty. The upper class of women, though not 
strictly speaking beautiful, have a certain inde- 
scribable charm ; a dreamy, soft, subdued, al- 
most languid manner, covering an enthusiasm 
almost startling when roused. This anomalous 



118 F O L L ^Y I N G THE DRUM. 

coinbiiuitiou produces an effect at once pleasing 
and the contrary. We feel liow necessary a 
high cultivation of the mind is to a union so 
fascinating and so defective. For beyond ac- 
companying herself on the mandolin, as she sings 
the national ditties of Spain, and embroidering 
the exquisite needle-work of Mexico, she is ut- 
terly devoid of either moral or literary culture. 
While at Matamoras, we saw the funeral pro- 
cession of the resident Spanish Consul, to which 
the American officers had received a formal and 
courteous invitation ; many of them were present. 
He was of the Koman faith, and his funeral 
services were attended with all the pomp and 
forms of that church. The carriage that we 
were in drew up to the side of the road, as the 
procession passed in solemn silence, the only 
sounds the low chanting of the priests and the 
tramp of the feet of the funeral train. The 
priests came first, in full regalia, bearing the 
host, followed by boys in white and crimson 
attire, holding lighted torches, and burning 
incense ; then came the coffin, borne on tho 
shoulders of six men, and covered with a heavy 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM, 119 

black velvet pall, with deep gold fringe. On 
tlie top lay the chapeau, sword, and sash of its 
occupant, with other insignia of his office (which 
latter among these people are neither few nor 
rare). Tlie mourners followed in close vicinity 
to the coffin, and then the citizens, each bearing 
a long waxen taper, to b# lighted at the grave 
during the service. The ftit shaven padres 
seemed to be enjoying vastly the impression 
they were producing on their ignorant but ad- 
miring audience, and (begging the pardon of the 
holy Eoman Catholic Church) a more dissolute, 
carnal, gambhng, jolly set of wine-bibbers do 
not exist in any portion of the world than the 
Mexican priests of the present day. In every 
village of importance they are found, ruling the 
io-norant T>easantrv with the strong sway of 
superstition and dread. These men are at 
times well educated, and very agreeable, 
ji.niusing companions, in spite of their wicked- 
ness. They differ widely from the original race 
of priests, who were among the foremost in 
brino'ing religion and civilization into the coun- 
try. 



120 F O L L O W I N G T B£ DRUM. 

]n lact, the earliest records we have of tho 
Iiistoiy of Mexico and Texas are derived from 
those remarkable men, lialf priest^ half soldier, 
who after aiding in the subjugation of tlie 
Aztecs, spread themselves almost single-handed 
over a vast extent of country^ uninhabited save 
by numerous tribes of savages, whose very ex- 
istence was unknown to each other. Led on by 
visions as brilliant as those of Cortez, fired 
equally by religious zeal and ambition, these 
modern crusadei-s braving danger with more 
than military ardor, and meeting death with the 
martyr's enthusiasm, with their numbers dimi- 
nished and still decreasing, pressed on until they 

■penetrated into the heart of the continent, where 
for centuries the wild idolator had offered sacri- 
fice on the altar of an unknown God. Descend- 
ing the water courses to the Gulf of Mexico, 
they sought with the cross in one hand, and the 
sword in the other, to colonize the nomadic 
tribes that roamed at large over the wide prai- 
ries of Texas. The history of their proceedings 
is full of interest, although the records are few 

'and limited in detail. Time and again their 



followtxtt the DFwUivr, 121 

efforts were iViistratecl, and the daring adven- 
turers paid to their enterprise the forfeit of their 
lives. 

Occasionally a straggling survivor found his 
way back to Mexico, after passing through every 
description of danger, travelling solitary and on 
foot over hundreds of miles of prairie. Their 
mournful tidings, however, served but to in- 
crease the ardor for conquest. Success seemed 
at length to crown these continued efforts, and a 
number of flourishing missions were eventually 
established in the valley of the upper Kio 
Grande, and formed the nucleus of wliat ai'e 
now considerable towns. These missions were 
generally under the supervision of the priests, 
one of whom attended to the religious ceremo- 
nies, while the other collected the Indians, and 
instructed them in agriculture, the U5>e of imple- 
ments, &c. 

In these tasks they were assisted by parties 
of already civilized Indians, who had accompa- 
nied them from Mexico. At first the converts 
were supported by the mission, which in return 
received their labor. As soon as they were 



122 FOLLO"^TXG THE DRUM. 

deemed competent to provide for themselves, a 
portion of ground was allotted to them, and in 
this way a village sprang np around each mis- 
sion. For several years these little commu- 
nities remained undisturbed, each year adding 
to their number, and increasing their resources. 
Yet, while reposing in fancied security, an un- 
seen storm was gathering around them. The 
wily savages of the phiins, true to the iustinct 
of their untamable and rapacious natures, only 
waited for a fitting opportunity to sweep down 
upon the settlements and annihilate them. I^ot 
content with plundering them of everything 
they could carry away, they ruthlessly mur- 
dered all who could be found, and the missions 
were for a time abandoned. We cannot fail to 
regret that so lit le of the heroic and religious 
zeal of these first priests remains to inspire their 
followers. 

Just outside of the U^wn of Brownsville are 
the grounds of the garrison of Fort Brawn, the 
spot from w^hence General Taylor bom^barded 
Matamoras. Its well kept fences, and regularly 
placed barracks and buildings, with the vine- 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 123 

covered cottages tliat form the officers' quar- 
ters, add in no small degree to tlie beauty and 
importance of Brownsville ; while the daily 
guard-mountings, parades, and drills, and the 
accompanying military music, add greatly to 
the feelings of safety and importance of its citi- 
zens. 

While at Fort Brown I saw a soldier from 
the ranks drummed out of the service for thef\. 
It was a very novel and amusing sight. He 
had his head shaved, and his military coat, hat, 
and accoutrements taken from him — his blue 
pantaloons, with the red stripe of the artillery, 
he alone retained to show his former calling. 
At evening parade he was called in front of the 
ranks, and publicly dismissed, the officer of the 
day reading his crime and its penalty, aloud, in 
full. He was then obliged to walk three times 
around the parade-ground, with the corporal 
and sergeant of the guard following him closely 
with bayonets pointed downward, the fifer and 
two drummers following, playing " right mer- 
rily" the tune of '' Poor Old Soldier, I hope the 
devil won't catch you," a gay, mocking air. 



J24: V () L L O \V ISO THE DRUM. 

reserved especially for occasions of this kind. 
He put on a regular Jack Sheppard or Dick 
Tiirpin swagger, and in passing the command- 
ing officer's quarters, shouted out to a gronp 
there assembled for a subscription for a wig. A 
prick from the two bayonets soon put him in 
mind of his flagrant breach of respect, but it 
did not seem to cure him, as on his last tour he 
called to the orderly of the day, who stood with 
military bearing and a wooden face, '' Good- 
bye, Tom ! God bless you, my son !" The or- 
derly's face became still more wooden and un- 
responsive at this remark, as in duty bound, 
and a severe prick from the guard produced 
another strong reminder of duty. At the gate 
of the garrison he was ejected, and went off 
probably to buy himself a wig ! — while the 
guard marched rapidly back to the guard-house, 
followed by the fifer and the drummers playing 
the tune of " The Dashing White Sergeant," a 
sound inspiriting enough to give the soldier 
fresh strength on the weariest march, or call 
the most lagging recruit to his post. 



FOLLOWING THE D K U .M . 125 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE RIO BRAVO DEL NORTE. 

"The Cora^tte" finally arrived, and after 
stopping a few days at BroAvnsville, prepared to 
start again on its return trip, np the Rio Grande. 
We were the only passengers on board. The 
accommodations were very fine, as there were 
only two state rooms, and they four times the 
usual size, and quite sumptuously furnished. 

We spent four days in our sail up the river, 
which runs in a singularly serpentiuv. course ; at 
times, the windings form almost a complete 
circle. Sand-bars were very numerous, and (to 
use a technical local phrase) we ^' stuch^'^ a num- 
ber of times on the way, going through the pro- 
cess of several houi*s' tugging and pushing eacli 
time before we were able to continue our vova2:e, 
which, had it not been for its noveltv, mig^lit 
have proved tedious. 



126 F () L \j < > \V I X C; T II S D K U M. 

About lialf way up tlie river, we came to a 
settlement, on the American &ide, called Edin- 
burgli. A thieving Scotchman had built a 
house here, and patriotically called it after his 
native place, which he had probably left in a 
hurry ! 

A few Mexicans have clustered around him, 
and it is now a stopj^ing-place for the occasional 
flat-boats that go up and down the river, witii 
lumber, provisions, &c. 

The only notice we took of its existence as a 
city was by flinging a package of papers ashore 
from the mail bag as we passed it. 

]N"ot far above this, we were suddenly alarmed 
by the dreadful cry of " the Canianches ! the Ca- 
manches !" and a momentary pang of terror 
was felt by the stoutest heart on board. 

Tlieir rifles were aimed at our "great canoe 
w^ith pinions," and several harmless shots pene- 
trated difi"erent objects on deck. 

We returned the fire, and most fortunately 
heard no more from them. Tliey were probably 
bound on other eri'ands of destruction and death. 

The story of the dreadful crimes which they 



F O L L U W I N ( ; THE 1) R L' M . l^l , 

practise on the inliabitauts of tliis region will 
lurin a fearful page in liistory. There could not 
be a blacker record of infamy and rapaciousness. 
Tlie Camanche Indian possesses no vestige of 
the noble traits attributed to the red men of the 
north west. At the best, he enjoys the mere 
intelligence, or rather instincts, of the brute ; 
these instincts are all that guide him. He is 
bloody, brutal, licentious, and an innate thief. 
Civilization will probably never reach him, as 
his feelings towards the white men are those of 
implacable hatred. Their blood he demands, 
and takes every occasion to obtain it. With the 
terrible sound of his name, the Mexican mother 
strikes terror to the ?nul of her wayward child. 
In fact, he may be looked upon as " the black 
man in the coal-hole" of more civilized lands. 
Actual extermination seems to suggest itself as 
the only remedy against this scourge. IN'othing 
less will render many portions of the State of 
Texas a safe abode for white settlers. 

The Camanche's food is principally raw meat 
of the animals killed in the hunt, which diet 
probably renders more formidable his ferocious 



^28 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

nature. Tlie tribe resides further north than 
the Rio Grande, but roving parties are continu- 
all}^ coming down for depredation and murder. 

They are wonderful horsemen, more in their 
natural elemeiiL uii a horse's back than any- 
where else. An Indian child is put on liorse- 
back before it can walk, with a cord around the 
horse's neck, and taught to guide it with its feeble 
strength, more adroitly than can be readily 
imaerined. The women ride astride, and are 
quite as fearless riders as the men. Their favor- 
ite sport is to lasso wild horses, which they 
do with great expertness, A band of mounted 
Camanches in f.iU chase after a drove of wild 
horses, with their manes flying in the wind, is 
said to be an intensely exciting sight. The 
Indian lassos his horse, jumps on tlie wild, res- 
tive creature's back, and remains there till he is 
in a measure broken in. 

They say, among the Indians, that in break 
iiig a liorse's spirit they break his heart, and he 
does not live long; conse(j[uently, they always* 
endeavor to catch colts, as " breaking in " has 
always been f«tun<l t<.> be. more successful during 



FOLLOWING THE P R U M . 12^ 

tlie tender period of youth tliaii in matnrer 
years, in liuman beings as well as wild horses ! 

Horse-stealing from the Mexicans is an im- 
portant branch of their business. lie who steals 
the greatest number of horses is regarded as the 
greatest man in the tribe. After all, life is 
made up of conventionalities, and what is 
honorable with one nation is dishonor with 
anothei*. If for korses we read dollars, I fear 
we should have a peculiar fact in regard to more 
enlightened communities! 

Government has, at different times, organized 
parties, and sent tiiem up to the principal 
camping grounds of the tribe. But the great 
sachem and chief men have disclaimed all con- 
nexion with these marauding parties, placing 
them in the light of filibuster, beyond their 
control. An astute idea of theirs, for if we can- 
not control organized depredations on our 
neighbors, how can we blame the Indians for 
wishing to extend their " area of freedom ?" 
My ideas of these savages were acquired from 
the Texans and Mexicans, of course not from 

actual contact ; yet 1 cannot refrain from some 

8 



130 F O L L O W I X G THE D R U M 

feelings of sympathy for a people, who are 
clriv^en from their rightful possessions, and can 
)ee, in their ignorance, manj excuses for their 
tiger-like ferocity and bitter hatred of those 
who they feel have wronged them so sorely. 

The night before we arrived at the j^oint of 
our final destination, the steamer pushed towards 
the shore, and we tied up for the night at a 
Mexican ranche, as at this point in the river 
sailing by night was considered dangerous. 
We ran ashore late in the afternoon, and landed 
to inspect the immediate vicinity of the coun- 
try. Taking a road that led from the river's 
bank in a winding direction through the cliap- 
paral — a beaten footpath led us on — each side 
overrun with briers, among them myriads of 
beautiful wild flowers, " uncultured blossoms of 
the wilderness," glowing in delicate and varied 
hues, as they sprung from the sterile and sandy 
soil, unlooked for traces of a beauty whose 
spirit seems to linger everywhere — we soon 
emerged from the tangled brush-wood of the 
chapparal, and came to a cleared spot of some 
acres in extent, Tlie picture of rural pursuits 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 131 

that here presented itself, was a study for srn 
artist. 

Half-a-dozen miid-huts neatly thatched with 
straw and open sheds attached for culinary pur- 
poses, where the kettle hung suspended over a 
w^ood fire, in real gipsy fashion, while an old 
weather-beaten crone bent over, stu'ring the 
pot-au-feu of frijoles that were to make the 
evening meal. 

The men who had returned from the chase or 
from the fields lay about on the ground, or leaned 
lazily over the fence, talking to the women who 
were milking a flock of goats, and some cows 
that the children had just driven in from their 
scanty pasturage in the chapparal. 

One Mexican girl, as she milked her goats, 
talked and smiled most coquettishly, the w^hile 
showing her beautiful eyes and teeth to great 
advantage to a " greaser," who evidently appre- 
ciated her charms ! His slouched sombrero and 
enormous black moustache, witli traces in his 
dress of the picturesque garb of Spain, produced 
an exceedingly artistic eftect. 

Tlie peasant woi7ien wear a white chemisette 



1^2 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

decollel^e, with short sleeves, and a dark brlglit- 
colored petticoat ; tliey are rather slovenly, and 
consequently far from attractive, although at a 
little distance thej look well. 

A large garden and a good-sized patch of 
Indian corn, interspersed with melon vines, to- 
gether with cattle and an enormous flock of 
barn-yard fowls, completed the scene. It took 
me back in my mind to past centuries that 
Schiller sings of — 

" The age when the ]^arth was at play 
In the childhood and bloom of creation, 
When no grief and no guile the calm shepherd-race knew j 
And their life was the absence of care," 

when Chloe and her shepherd swain were the 
chosen theme of the poet's pen. 

The children roamed " sans culottes" as usual 
in this climate, and were very pretty, although 
it was painfully evident that the institution of 
Saturday night ablutions, common in all well 
organized nurseries, was unheard of among these 
poor little Mexican babies ! 

The Mexican peasant of the Rio Grande is a 



F O L T. O W T X G THE BRUM. 1 33 

character peculiar to that region of country, 
possessing within himself all the elements of a 
social existence. He is his own shoemaker and 
tailor ; the leather of his garments and of his 
sandals is made from the skins of the animals he 
lias himself killed. 

He makes his own carts, hewing the wheels 
out of the solid wood. He makes the plough 
he useS;, which is a sharp-pointed log, with a 
pole at one end by which it is guided, and one 
at the other by which it is drawn. To it a pair 
of oxen are strapped by the horns ; sometimes a 
mule and a cow are yoked together to drag it ! 
His harrow is made of the branch of a tree. The 
corn is put into the ground and then left to 
Providence to either ripen or dry up, of which 
there is an even chance. 

After planting he starts out on the prairie to 
lasso wild horses and cattle, and if he escapes 
the Camanche, he generally l^rings home a 
supply of stock for the ensuing year. He builds 
his house of straw, reeds, stone and adobes, 
without either nails or hammer; lingers out 
his inoffensive peaceful life almost invariably 



134 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

to a good old age ; and goes to his grave witliont 
knowing or caring anything abont the world, 
except that portion of it which is bounded by 
the horizon of his own rancho. 



F O T. L W I N G T H S DRUM 1 3 j 



CHAPTEK XIII. 



RINGGOLD BARRACKS. 



We readied Camp Kinggold on the fonrth day, 
at noon. The arrival of the steamer seemed to 
be an event that created a great excitement. 
All the soldiers off duty, and several officers, 
awaited our landing on the dock. This being 
the only mode of communication that theBe 
exiles have with their kind, the arrival of a mail 
and newspapers from the w^orld be3''ond is na- 
turally an important occurrence. 

The military post of Einggold Barracks rose 
before us on a high sandy bluff, its rows of 
long, low, whitewashed modern buildings, placed 
at regular intervals around a level drill ground, 
in the centre of which rose the flag-staff, witli 
its colors hanging droopingly, unstirred by the 
sultry air. These buildings were the govern- 
ment store-houses, soldiers' barracks, and offi- 



186 F O r. 1 . ( ) UM X i } T HE DRUM. 

cora' LjiiariGr^ ; lluy all rt'iiiinded me of tli« 
house ol* rlio foolish man, ''wlio built his founda- 
tiou upon the sand," all being in a similar 
plight. There were iiu signs of vegetation 
around ; not even a blade of grass was to be 
seen. The sentinels monotonously walking guard 
gave unmistakable token of a military post. 

The deep feeling of relief that our long jour- 
ney was at length at an end, made me greet with 
delight the first moment that I landed upon the 
parched and uninviting sand which composed 
the bluff upon which the barracks were built. 
Probably on the principle that " any hut unto 
a homeless man is welcome," it was with intense 
pleasure that I took possession of the house as- 
signed to me. Peace and cpiiet, after the tur- 
moil and excitement of sea-sickness and travel- 
ling, seemed what I might at least find here, 
and I now look back to the year passed in this 
isolated spot as one full of pleasant recollec- 
tions. 

Each day was filled with new impressions of 
a new country and new people. Surrounded 
by those whose intelligence and polish would 



FOLLOWIXG THE DRUM. 187 

have been appreciated in tlje nioBt elegant salons 
in the world, I can never forget all the kindness 
and good-will shown to me in Texas both by 
our officers and the Texans. I never saw a wo- 
man while there, except a Mexican peasant or 
a camp woman. The abigail I had taken with 
me leceived an offer of marriage while in 
Brownsville, which (being over thirty-five) she 
accepted with alacrity, preferring a permanent 
situation at the head of the establisliment of a 
sentimental blacksmith, to one less certain. In 
consequence, I was left to the tender mercies of 
an African valet de chambre, who took the place 
i){ femiru de chambre, to wliicli he had been 
drilled by some navy officers, wb.oin lie accom- 
panied on a cruise in t'ne ^feditorranean. He 
proved himself what in pathetic language might 
be called the comfort of this period of my life ! 
This faithful negro shone both literally and figu- 
ratively in many capacities ; he was at once 
chambermaid, waiter, and housekeeper ; and 
like that faithful Scotchman, Caleb Balderstone, 
prided himself on keeping up the style of the 
familv ! ^o matter how forlorn tlie fare, the 



13S F O T. T. O W I N G THE D R V M . 

silver, glass, and cliiua glistened in itaniacnlate 
purity, and Joseph Williams always, I may say, 
presided at our board with an untiring grace 
and elegance of demeanor ! A soldier officiated 
as cook, and with the occasional assistance of a 
drummer-boy as scullion, divided the labors of 
the household, with which I never dreamed of 
interfering. 

It was May when we readied there, and we 
were plunged into a tropical summer, which 
would have been unendurable had it not been 
for the delightfully cool nights, when a sea- 
breeze, full of the fresh aroma of tlie ocean, 
would spring up. During tlie lieat of tlie day, 
aggravating visions of i^ewport would at times 
come across me, but in spite of all inconveni- 
ences novelty is so charming that I found a 
great deal to enjoy in this new land ; the cli- 
mate was very salubrious, and cholera almost 
unheard of. During the summer months I re- 
mained a great deal at home. It was not till 
the fall that we commenced riding about the 
country in search of adventure and novelty. 

These months passed by rapidly. I amused 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 139 

myself making a kind of Itobinson Onsoe col- 
lection of pets. By September it consisted of a 
fawn, two goats, a flock of doves, a brood of 
chickens, a parrot, four dogs of different kinds, 
several mocking birds, and some orioles, to say 
nothing of a tiger cub, of whom I had a mortal 
fear, who was kept chained, and poked at, and 
fed on raw meat by our faithful negro, who took 
these judicious means of taming him ! 

This small specimen of " a happy family" was 
kept in a large inclosure in the rear of the house, 
surrounded by a high fence of interlaced brush- 
wood, peculiar to Mexican ranchos. 

In a mounted regiment, blood horses of course 
abound, but they all had too much spirit to go 
in harness, although superb under the bit. We 
could not extend our rides very far from the gar- 
rison, on account of the frequent close neighbor- 
hood of the Camanches. The only safe ride 
was a racecourse just outside of the govern- 
ment grounds. We made many unsuccessful 
efforts to get a horse that would go in a wagon, 
and one day heard of a pair that were to be sold, 
which had been ridden down from "Northern Texas 



140 POT. L O WIS Cy T H E 1') R U M . 

across the prairies^ and were used up, by being 
overworked on the road. Their owner, a rough 
Texan, now offered, them for sale. One died 
before we got there, and the otlier ! A mere ver- 
bal description can never do him justice ! J^ihs 
were the chief impression he produced, but his 
owner said oats and rest would restore him, and 
he would fatten up, and become a splendid crit- 
ter ! With this vague hope he was purchased 
for " about five dollars," his owner " reckoned." 
1 did not wonder at the snorting and pawing of 
the ground (expressive of impatience and dis- 
gust) performed by the horse I was sitting, as he 
came in contact with this miserable specimen 
of his race, while it took all my strength to hold 
him in. 

The way-worn creature was sent to the garri- 
son that afternoon, but evidently felt the exer- 
tion to be too much for his feeble frame. Oats 
and bran were administered Avith but small 
success. For weeks he lingered on, occasionally 
taking little walks or standing mournfully un- 
der the shed wniich was his stable, looking so 
sad, so pation^, and so motionless, that rows of 



FOLLOWI.VG T II K DRUM. 141 

blackbirds would perch ou liis sliai:p backboue, 
iiiimoletfted bj the feeble switches of his scanty 
tail I Unlike other horses, he did not " feel his 
oats ;" his prime had passed ; there was no more 
'' fattening up" for him in this w^orld. That he 
would never be a " splendid critter" again was 
evident ! He finally died from swallowing a 
wine-glass! A peculiar death, one of unfre- 
quent occurrence, and worth at least a word of 
explanation. 

A basket of straw, which had been used in 
packing glass, stood near his shed. He took a 
mouthful of it, jyoiir passer le terrips^ one sultry 
morning. A wine-glass remained among it, en- 
cased most elaborately in hay (as is the wont of 
professional packers to encase them). This he 
recklessly bit at, it got into his throat, and 
proved the instrument that accomplished hia 
death. Peace be to his veteran bones, for the}? 
were many! 

Another of my dumb friends to whom I can- 
not fail to pay the tribute of a few words of 
remembrance, was — a chicken ! — whose benevo- 
lence of disposition and kindness of heart ele 



142 F O 1. L O W ^ N (x T H K I) RUM. 

vated him in my eyes far above the level of the 
humble race to which he belonged. His perso 
nal appearance was yellow, delicate, and very 
bobtailed! his mien was subdued and even 
melancholy, so much so that he involuntarily 
reminded me of a young divinity student whom 
I had known ! 

An old hen of his acquaintance had a brood 
of children, one of whom she maltreated, or, to 
use the technical phrase, " hen-pecked," so that 
the poor thing, too small to pick for itself, would 
have been left 1^. die, had not this tender-hearted 
and philanthropic chicken come to its rescue. 
He took it literally " under his wing," where it 
slept at night. He picked food for it, providing 
it with grasshoppers, spiders, and other delica- 
cies. One was never to be seen without the 
other; they presented quite a touching sight, 
even if they were only chickens. Their final 
fate was a sad one ! At times our larder was in 
a deplorable condition, quite bare, without a 
resource left by which it might be replenished ; 
while on other occasions, when a Mexican 
^vould ride into camp with a dozen wild tur- 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 1 i3 

kej8 swung across his saddle, it was quite the 
opposite. Sometimes an Ir.dian hunter would 
ride uj> to the door with a whole deer, even 
the skin and antlers, and scores of prairie hens, 
and game of every kind, hanging in the rear. 
At such times there was nothing to complain of, 
but at others, if a piece of kid or rabbit, or a 
few turnips (sold for a real^ or a shilling apiece), 
could be obtained, it was looked upon as almost 
too good fortune to be real. 

At one period, which I shall never forget, the 
quartermaster's stores were reduced to mouldy 
flour and rancid pork, two luxuries that ai*e not 
generally very highly appreciated, even by the 
unfastidious. 

A long drought had lowered the river by 
extensive evaporations, so as to render it unna- 
vigable; and the same cause had parched the 
country around, making it even more than 
usually sterile and unproductive. 

The steamboat with the monthly supplies of 
provisions could not get up the river. Staiwa- 
tion seemed staring us in the face. Even frijoles 
(the Mexican bean, an unfailing stand-by) 



144 F O L L O W 1 \ G T Tl E D li T \V . 

became scarce, and butter, milk, Ijread, and otUei' 
sncli small but necessary items, were utterlj^ 
unknowu to U8 for weeks. At this period din- 
ner became a dreadful ordeal, it seemed like 
swallowing a succession of pills; but he would 
have been a cowardly soldier who complained, 
when all suffered alike, and the subject of food 
was one that was dropped by mutual consent! — 
discussion would only have aggravated the eviL 

It was during this time, when sickness and 
" les vapeurs noirs" confined me to the liouse, 
that my poor little friend, the chicken and the 
forlorn little one that he had befriended, were 
transformed into an ignoble fricassee. They were 
not roasted, out of respect to my feelings, as by 
their differeiice of size (which was marked) I 
might have recognised them! 'No instinct 
warned me that I was partaking of my friends. 
They must have tasted tenderly, if the mind 
has the infiiience over the body they say it has. 

I was afterwards told the particulars of their 
fate : As our resources diminished for supplying 
the table, the eyes of our colored dependant 
fixerl themselves on this loving pair, who., how- 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 145 

ever, fonglit manfully and sagaciously for their 
lives, — three successive days retiring under the 
house just before the- very hour of execution 
arrived, with an intelligent expression of " no, 
you don't," on their pointedly expressive faces. 
Finally, they were cut off while in the arms of 
Morpheus (if Morpheus admits poultry into 
those precincts!), and formed the above men- 
tioned dish. 

I felt very badly on the following day, when 
I found that they had been eaten, but was com- 
forted by the thought of how many in a state of 
famine had been obliged to eat their intimate 
friends, and even their best fitting boot ! It is 
always best to philosophize. In fact, some of 
our fates would be unendurable were it not for 
this wonderful and unfailing panacea. 

At last the joyful news arrived that "The 
Corvette" was a few miles down the river with 
supplies, but "stiicJc'' in a sand-bar, and the 
time of its precise arrival consequently very 
uncertain. Two " gallant sons of Mars " innuedi- 
ately volunteered, and started on horseback to 
go down the river, and bring me some supplies. 



l-i:6 ¥ U LLO VV 1 N G THE L> E U M. 

They returned towards evening, lieavilv lade ., 
receiving my gratitude as " ample compensatioB '' 
for a day's toil. A fine illustration of tlie word 
politeness/ and cj^uite worthy of record. 

Under the most favorable circumstances, the 
food was flavored with red ants, which were so 
thick that it was impossible to eat without de- 
vouring them by scores. They tasted something 
like caraway seed, and were not as disagreeable as 
a novice might suppose ! 

The water we drank came from the Eio Grande, 
and was invariably lukewarm. After straining 
it, it was kept in a stone jug encased in wet flan- 
nel, and suspended by a cord in the air, for the 
purpose of cooling it as much as possible. 

The butter was almost unpalatable from its soft 
liquid appearance, and was kept in stone jars 
under ground with bricks laid over them. The 
milk was that of cows and goats, promiscuously 
milked in the same pail. 

The vermin, the famine, hot winds, and dry 
soil, which caused clouds of dust to fill the sultry 
air of July and August and lodge on everything, 
made me begin to think that General Twiggs' 



FOLLOWING THE DEUM. 147 

advice, that it would be better to remain in 
JSTew Orleans and keep a thread and needle 
8tore than go to Texas, had been quite judicious ! 
However, th^e evils began to disappear in a 
measure as the reason of fall and winter 
approached, and our rides became longer and 
more varied. 



lis F O L L O W 1 N G T H K D K U M 



CHAPTEK XIV. 



About a mile above Kinggold Barracks, on the 
banks of the E,io Grande, lies the town of " Eio 
Grande City," until quite recently known as 
" Davis's Kanche," so called from its founder 
and present chief magistrate, the Honorable II. 
Clay Davis, upon the history of whose life it 
would not be uninteresting, perhaps, to dwell 
for a moment. 

He left his home in Kentucky when quite a 
boy. His father had been dead some years, 
and becoming tired of the restraint imposed 
upon him by an injudicious mother, he decided 
to seek for himself his fortune or his fate. 

Commencing his new career by a rash en- 
counter on a Mississippi river steamboat, in 
which he wounded (mortally, as was supposed) 
a fellow-passengeu, he was compelled to take a 



F O T. L n -\V T X G THE D R TT :Nr . 149 

liiirried departure for Arkuns is. Alone, witli- 
oiit a friend and without a dollar, a fugitive 
from justice, perhaps a murderer, a houseless 
wanderer in a wild, unsettled region ! Fine 
prospects for a young lad of fifteen, and rather 
a peculiar "start in the world" for a hero 1 
ITevertheless he entered upon the task of sup- 
porting existence with no misgivings as to the 
future, yet without any fixedness of purpose 
or ambition, a fault which has lost to the world 
many a noble spirit, who would otherwise have 
left behind him an honored name. A man 
seldom reaches the " mountain tops of fame " 
who has not placed his foot upon the ladder in 
early life. The eager aspirations of youth ex- 
cite to the effort, while the cool judgment of 
manhood directs the purpose. As the hot sun 
of summer calls the fruit into existence, so the 
less heated rays of autumn mellow it into ripe- 
ness and perfection of beauty. 

It would be a long story to follow his earlier 
career. Its many vicissitudes tanght him self- 
reliance, and its many escapes from danger 
gave him a recklessness which, in after years, 



150 F o L L o w T X a T n F rm u M 

was exhibited to a remarkable degree in the 
Texas war of independence. 

He had joined the first expedition into this 
State, where he found himself among men of 
tastes and dispositions similar to his own. He 
was actively engaged in all those battles which 
gave the world so strong an impression of An- 
glo-Saxon endurance. Fighting simply for the 
love of it, he cared less for the result than for 
the pleasm-able excitement it produced. After 
the annexation of Texas to the United States 
his "occupation" was "gone," and he became 
an aimless wanderer once more, until at last he 
found himself, after many weary days' travel, 
on the banks of the Hio Grande. 

It was at the twilight hour that he arrived 
there, and throwing himself on the ground at 
the foot of an ebony tree, he soon fell asleep, 
and dreamed of his home and early years, of 
his mother's admonitions, and his desertion of 
her — of the struggles he had gone through 
since, and the temptations he had encountered 
and yielded to. The sun was high in the hea- 
vens before his sleep was disturbed, but he 



FOLLOWING T H E D RUM. 151 

awoke a changed man. Ont of these dreams 
had come a determination to retrieve the past. 
How well he has kept his determination is 
shown by the flourishing settlement that now 
marks what was then a barren spot. 

The ebony tree has been inclosed and sur- 
rounded by a seat of white plaster. It stands 
conspicuously at the entrance of the town, and 
is remarkable in this barren land for its height 
and beauty. It is carefully watered and che- 
rished with feelings of sentiment for the dreams 
inspired under its protecting branches. It forms 
the favorite evening resort for the principal men 
of the place, who meet here to discuss their' 
own affairs, those of their neighbors, and the 
nation at large, quite in • the style of Gold- 
smith's 

" Hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade." 

Clay Davis was a true specimen of the Texan, 
tall and athletic, yet his delicately cut features, 
carefully trimmed moustache, and air distingue^ 
bespoke rather the modern carpet knight than 
the hero and pioneer of the wilderness. Associa- 



152 F o 1. L O W I N tT THE D R U M . 

tion with the Mexicans had given him a peculiar 
style of manner, a mixture of Western frank- 
ness and tlie stateliness of the Spaniard ; a 
low-toned voice, and a deference mixed with 
assurance. 

There were many rumors afloat of his gallant 
bravery, and one that reminded me of David 
and Goliah, in which he had slain a famous 
Camanche chieftain in single coml^at, ridding 
the frontier of one of its direst scourges. 

We do not have to go beyond our native land 
for material for the wildest romance. To a 
mind like Cooper's, Texas opens a n'^w field, 
■fall of intense and varied interest for tb^i novel 
wi'iter. 

Mr. Davis always -greeted us with a \Felcome 
when we made our appearance in the »-anche,. 
and frequently sent presents of venison, game, or 
melons to the garrison. 

He once sent me a white tea rose, the only 
one that had ever been seen in this part of the 
world, accompanied by a poetical epi?tle in 
jprose^ which I would copy for its intrinsic beauty, 
were it not too personal. It was a fine spea'«>eD 



FOLLOW! N"G THE DRUM. 153 

of the peculiar and uncuhivated natural elu- 
quence of the West, where exalted sentiment, 
and what might seem to ns overstrained poetry 
of expression, is quite natural. 

These "Western people have not yet been 
brought under the influence of the modern 
school of light literature originated by certain 
sarcastic and popular* authors, who, with their 
thousand imitators, draw scenes from debauched 
life in populous cities, which turn all that is 
great and soul-stirring to ridicule, regarding 
satire on noble, elevated, and philanthro2:)ic sub- 
jects, as an evidence of high intellectual powers. 
These writers have done more towards destroying 
the poetry of life, than to elevate and improve 
the mind, differing widely from the quaint 
humor and heroic picturing of Sir Walter Scott, 
which cause alternately a smile and glow of 
enthusiasm. 

Rio Grande City was first settled in 1848, and 
is now a prosperous village, containing about 
one thousand inhabitants, consisting of Ameri- 
cans, Mexicans, and a few Spaniards. 

The buildings consist of Mexican hackals, the 



ir>l FOLLO^.VTN-G THR BRUM. 

])rick stores of the Americans, and the store 
honses and dwelling of Mr. Davis, whicli front 
a plaza, where the market is daily held in the 
open air. The lazy Mexicans lie around in 
the sun, with large o]3en baskets spread out be- 
fore them, containing the most untempting mer- 
chandise, of scanty vegetables, goat's flesh, and 
beef, cut in strips and dried in the sun. This 
they sell by the yard ; so that a person, in going 
to market, is afforded a convenient way of mea- 
suring accurately the appetite of those he has to 
provide for! The cakes and confectionery — 
made of flour, lard, and molasses — are disagree- 
able even to look at. Their taste it is impossible 
to imagine. 

The fandango court-yard here, as in all towns 
where Mexican habits at all prevail, is one of 
the chief attractions, and forms one of its prin- 
cipal features ; a square inclosure,' with three 
sides benches, and one side booths, where 
dancing, drinking, and gambling are kept up 
the greater part of the night. 
• On the outskirts of the tow^n the people are 
annually fencing in new corn fields, so that in 



FOLLO^VTN■r^ tttk T)Hri\r. 155 

spite of tlie barrenness of the land, tlie place 
looks quite thriving, having somewhat that as- 
pect of fresh invigorating progress so generally 
found among our young and vigorous people, 
who, like poor " Joe AUalone," are always 
" moving on, moving on." 

A billiard room, an eating saloon, a bakery, 
and even a " pharmacie," with a most preten- 
tious soda water fountain, are found here. All 
these attractions and comparative luxuries 
render it a place of great importance in this part 
of Texas. 

This was a great rendezvous for filibusters, 
among whom could be found more true-souled 
honesty and genuine generosity than many 
would be led to suj^pose. 

Many a dare-devil Texan would scorn the 
paltry meanness, and fire at the acts of fraud 
perpetrated hj friend on friend which are of 
not unfrequent occurrence in our civilized me- 
tropolis. 

In the Texan are combined the raciness of the 
Kentuckian, the Creole impetuosity of Louisia- 
na, with the reckless heart-in-hand spirit of the 



15f) FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

Soutli-Wcst. They follow different callings, 
from the scout to the office-holder under the 
Government, but there exist no false distinc- 
tions among them. A man stands simply on 
his own merits. The word blase, or the idea con- 
veyed by it, is unknown. Fresh as nature 
around them, their hearts beat true to the call 
of friendship, and respect for women seems an 
innate principle, while daring and bravery are no 
second nature, but nature itself. 

The chances of life are so continually perilled 
that it creates a recklessness unknown to us 
purchasers of life-preservers, who repose in the 
security of a private watch ! 

Our rides, on account of the climate, always 
took place towards evening. The tAvilight here 
is very short, day at its decline merging sudden- 
ly into darkness. Tlie horses always took the 
same direction, the road that lay between the 
garrison and the ranche. It was a beaten cattle- 
track, cut through the chapparal, forming part 
of what had once been a race-ground used 
by the officers during the late war, when sta- 
tioned opposite here at Camargo. 



F O T. L O W I N G T H K DRUM. 167 

In tliese rides we frequently met a peaceable 
peasant driving home his flock of goats for their 
evening milking, or a band of huntsmen wrapped 
in gay blankets, bright ribbons streaming from 
their sombreros, returning from the day's chase 
with the game hung over their horses' backs. 

"We were obliged to ride slowly on account of 
the heavy, deep sand, and thickly growing briers 
and cacti which ran all over the ground. "Walk- 
ing was impossible, even if the scorpions, taran- 
tulas, and venomous snakes lurking in the scanty 
vegetation, had been more rare. 

There never was a country more unfitted by 
nature to be the home of civilized man, than 
this region of the lower Eio Grande in Texas. 
It seems to hate civilization. Everything looks 
discouragingly on the settler, refusing to smile 
on his most earnest efforts, pointing with a 
grim and solemn aspect to those flowery plains 
of the l^orth where encouragement and plenty 
await him. It seems only to be intended as 
a home for desperate men, escaped refugees 
from the law; men who live in the saddle, and 
on the prairie seek their subsistence*, such as 



158 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

give to Texas any bad reputation its population 
may have. 

In this wild region deeds are sometimes 
enacted which make the blood run cold to read 
of ; yet we should bear in mind the vast extent 
of the country, and not judge of the character 
of the State by the isolated acts of a roving 
population. 

The Americans on the Eio Grande may be 
considered as the most daring, adventurous set 
of men in the world. Actuated solely by the 
reckless spirit of adventure and restless Icfve for 
the new and exciting, many of their lives present 
scenes of peril which none could encounter 
unless possessed of iron nerve, and which have 
left upon their souls the impress of a new 
nature. 

The history of each differs from the other, yet 
through the character of all there runs a tinge 
of romance and chivalry which cannot fail to 
excite our admiration, although we might wish 
to see these strong energies directed to a better 
purpose. 

They are essentially a peculiar race, with 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM- 159 

marked individualities belonging to them alone. 
Their innate nobility and high-toned sense of 
honor reseiible more the days of Ivanhoe and 
Richard Cceur-de-Lion, than our more modern 
acceptation of the term. 

The early pioneers of all our Western States 
were restless spirits from the colonies who, as 
civilization advanced, and the first settlements 
became thickly populated, possessing many of 
the restraints and few of the advantages of 
European cities, pushed onward into the wilder- 
ness to find, like Robin Hood and his '^ merrie 
men," a home in the forest glade, their sole com- 
panionship nature in her varied forms of beauty. 
Civilization, as it has followed them, has urged 
them, like the red men, westward. Familiar 
and hourly intercourse with nature has given 
them a tone of mind differing widely from the 
men of the East, who would amaze them by 
their "business tact" as much as they in 
their turn astonish these sons of trade by their 
hardy enduring livx^s of self-exposure and pri- 
vation. 

Since we left Texas, there has been a great 



160 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

overflow in tlie Eio Grande, and everything 
green has flourished. The crops have been 
very luxuriant. They however have been com- 
pelled to pay for this a high price, as the fever 
and ague has become very prevalent in con- 
sequence, " the shakes" (as they call this malady 
all over the newly settled portions of the West) 
preventing in a measure the enjoyment of this 
imwonted luxuriance and plenty. 

While we were there the climate was very 
salubrious, in fact famously so ; the winter 
days were as soft, and warm, and balmy as at 
the Havana. The summer-heat indeed would 
have been almost unbearable, were it not for the 
cool refreshing night breezes. 

In the rainy season the river is apt to over- 
flow its banks, and leave numerous little lakes 
and large pools wherever there is a depres- 
sion of the ground. The soil prevents rapid 
absorption, and causes these to remain for weeks. 
In them the Mexican women can be seen at any 
hour of the day washing clothes, while their 
little naked children are s}>hishing in the water 
in great glee, <>r lying asleep on the bare 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 161 

ground, under a sliady bush, like so many 
little animals. 

On ordinary occasions tlie river is used for 
lavatory purposes, and women washing their 
clol^es on the banks, while others spread them 
on the brush-wood to dry, form a very pretty 
scene. 

Towards evening it is full of bathers, men, 
women, and children. Tl^y swim with pe- 
culiar agility, more like water-fowl in their fear- 
less divings, than human beings. 
* By di-iving about the country among the 
peasantry, at whose huts we always stopped to 
inquire if they had anything to sell, we became 
very well known among them. I finally com- 
menced looking upon them as a new circle of 
friends and acquaintances. 

They are an amiable, smiling, innocent race 
of people, utterly unconscious of the higher 
emotions of civilization save the feeling of 
sympathy in misfortune, which pervades all 
classes of Mexicans. 

So universal is this sentiment that the bit- 
terest enemv, in the hour of trouble, will 
10 



162 F o L L o w I X (; r u k d k u m . 

receive care and attention. The well known 
devotion of the Mexican women to the sick and 
wounded of our army during the war, finds no 
parallel in history; and their love, whether 
for friend or lover, when once kindled, is flame 
in all but its short-livedness. 

This lovely trait of sympathy is evident in the 
commonest intercourse. Their overflowing kind- 
ness of purpose, 4hat shows itself in every 
trifle, has left on my memory an indelible 
impression of kindnerss towards this innocent, 
warm-hearted race. Yet, mild and inoffen- 
sive as they usually are, they have enough 
Spanish blood left in their veins to be occa- 
sionally roused to deeds of desperation and 
bloodshed. at 

The white complexion of an American and 
blue eyes are their beau-ideal of beauty, in 
contrast to their own dark skins and black 
eyes ; but a negro they regard as the climax of 
loveliness ! The more ebon his complexion, the 
woollier his locks, the more claim he has ou 
thieir admiration ! 

On the Lower Rio Grande there are no 



F O L L U W 1 NT a T l[ V: D R IJ M . 16o 

slaveliolders ; tlie close neighborliood of Mexico 
renders escape so easy tliat no slaves are ever 
brought here. Our colored dependent, the 
only specimen of his race in these parts, was 
very much petted by the Mexican peasant 
women (who literally adore the sons of Africa) ! 
The effects of this appreciation were soon visible ! 
as I was relieved from the somewhat arduous 
duty of directing frequent billets (they could 
not be called billets-</<9wa?, as they were perfumed 
with a professional odor of pepper !) to a certain 
**Miss Georgianna, care of Julias Johnston, 
White-washer, Myrtle Alley, Brooklyn" ! who 
was thus unfeelingly abandoned for the sake of a 
certain little sallow, black-eyed Ninetta Garcia. 
I spoke to him one day witli regard to his unfaith- 
fulness as a correspondent. " I guess how's she 
disremembers me, I ben gone so long" ! replied 
this colored " man of the world." I^inetta, in 
the excess of her devotion, paid frequent visits 
to the garrison, where, with enamored eyes, she 
would stand at tlie kitchen door and watch the 
object of her affection at his various and nume- 
rous employments, presuming that when they 



164 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

ivere ended lie would go to the fandango 
Yeiy little eonversatiou took place between 
them, and that little in a language called 
''Mex," a kind of Spanish patois, diifering 
widely from pure Castilian ! This admira- 
tion for negroes somewhat disgusted me with 
the Mexicans, for, in spite of philanthropy. 
Christian charity, and liberal views, I do not 
believe that the colored and white races can 
ever by any possibility amalgamate to an 
equality ! 

The different degrees of instinct in different 
races of the animal kingdom, the different 
degrees of beauty and utility in the different 
classes of the vegetable kingdom, seem a 
sufficient reason to believe that these same dis- 
tinctions have been made in the different races 
of the human family. 

In one of our drives we stopped at the 
ranche of an old Mexican, where we had 
several times before been supplied by his 
daughter with eggs and poultry. He had 
always been away at the chase, but on this 
occasion we found him at home ; he came 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 105 

out to speak to " la donna Americana'' ! who 
his daughter said was at the door. 

I noticed that he kept one of his eyes tightly 
closed, which gave such a droll and roguish 
expression to his old wrinkled face, that I 
could not help laughing, in which (although not 
knowing the cause) he heartily joined, probably 
from sympathy! 

I put my finger on my eye, as a sign to 
ask him why he kept it closed so rigidly? 
This seemed to amuse the old fellow amazingly 
(he was past eighty), and in the glee of second 
childhood he had to sit down to laugh, saying, 
when he had recovered himself sufficiently to 
do so — "Los Indios, senorita,los Indios;" mean- 
ing that his eye had been shot out by a Caman- 
che's arrow — ^rather a serious joke, I thought ! 

His name was " Chico." When quite a boy, 
he had been captured by the Indians, who took 
him up among them, picked out his eyebrows, 
shaved his head, and finally imbued him so 
thoroughly with a taste for their wild mode of 
life that when he was recaptured by the Mexi- 
cans, some eighteen years afterwards, he was 



166 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

quite lotli to remain among them. But finally 
a Mexican wife, and several little saffron- 
colored "Bambinos," reconciled liim to liis own 
people. 



FO L LO W IS n T 11 '•. )' Tl ^^ ^1 1*^7 



OIIAPTKR XV. 



FKOKTIKK riKTY, ETC. 



Theke are but few religions observances kept 
in this part of the world. If any Divine influ- 
ence prevails it is through the instrumentality 
of the Eoman church. On the anniversary of 
" AH Saints' Day," we met a curious procession 
in the streets of Eio Grande City, carrying 
bright-colored banners and flags, followed by 
two men bearing a long pole, on which were 
strung a number of wooden dolls, dressed in a 
most grotesque manner, wearing turbans orna- 
mented with mangy feathers, evidently lately 
purloined from some unfortunate chicken- s tail ! 
These " graven images" represented the differ- 
ent patron saints of Mexico. Tw^o musicians 
came after them, one with a drum, and another 
with a squeaking fiddle, playing jigs and other 
lively airs, probably intended to promote reli- 



168 F O L L O W I N G T H HZ D R 11 5f . 

giuiis eiitlmsiasan ! The rear was brought up by 
a mongrel crowd of Mexican women, babies, In- 
dia-rnbber or no-haired dogs, and dirty children, 
who were thus receiving their earliest religious 
impressions ! In spite of its absurdity the sight 
was truly pitiful. 

Tliere was a current, and generally believed 
report, that the postmaster of Kio Grande City 
was a good Baptist, the only man in the set- 
tlement who owned a Bible, in consequence 
of which he had acquired the familiar cogno- 
men of " Bible-back," a name that he stoutly 
resented! He said the Bible belonged to his 
wife ; but he had a brother in ]^orthern 
Texas who had '^ got religion and done well,^^ 
and he thought " some " of " getting it " 
himself ! 

An Episcopal clergyman once came up the 
river as far as this point and preached. He had 
an overflowing audience, who complained that 
he did not give them enough " howling" — mean- 
ing a series of fearful denunciations that would 
Berve to rouse the necessary degree of religious 
excitement 1 



FOLLOW! X O r H K I) R IT M . 169 

It is nndoubtedlj the case that the Metho- 
dists are more successful than any other sect in 
this kind of communities. They seem to adapt 
themselves better to their capacities, which 
may be accounted for by their being a less 
highly educated class of men than those of the 
Episcopal church, and assimilating better with 
the ordinary mind in consequence. 

It is a peculiar fact, and one worthy of notice, 
that since Texas has become a State the Episco- 
pal church has looked in vain for a man to fill 
the bishopric, while in every portion of this 
country there is more need of good influence 
than in any.of those lands where vain endeavors 
and enormous sums of money are annually ex- 
pended on barbaric tribes who have but little in- 
tellect to cultivate, and who generally evince their 
gratitude for religious instruction by eating their 
instructors ! The pearls which are injudiciously 
thrown before swine to be trampled npon, in ig- 
norance of their beauty and value, others might 
keenly appreciate, and carefully string and wear 
as an adornment. In Texas there are hundreds 
of intelligent human souls ripe for instruction. 



170 F o r, r. w i x g t h e o r it ^r . 

The heroic examples of okl seem to have lut 
power to inspire those who look upon their com- 
mission in the ranks of God's service as a worldly 
profession, and calculate the income it will yield ! 
forgetting the glorious example of John, who 
preached in the wilderness, clothed in camel's 
hair, with wild honey for his food. Tliere 
is a wilderness now as then to ])reacli in, with 
the finest wild-cat skins, and wild honey like 
ambrosia ! 

Every one has his destined vocation. 1 do 
not censure the old established veterans in ^' the 
army of the blest," who are needed where they 
are, but the young aspirants who, to use the 
technical expression, are waiting for " a call" — 
they have no need to wait — a call from heaven 
awaits them — let them listen ! It is very easy to 
know and preach the right course ; but, I sup- 
pose, it is not so easy to acquire the necessary 
strength of mind to adopt it and go to Texas 
for life. Human nature is so continually at war 
with the divine instinct, that all of us (divinity 
students included) have constantly to contend 
against tliose outside influences which too often 



F O L L O W T N O T If F. P P !' AF . 171 

turn the scale. As Spenser said t<vo hundred 
years ago : 

" Aye me, how many perils doe enfold 
The righteous man, to make liim daily fall." 

h 

Although principle may at times have due 
weight, yet circumstances generally make the 
villain or the saint, which may account for 
the fact of Texas being comparatively deserted 
by the professed soldiers of the Lord. 

Just at the rear of Davis's ranche, backed 
by a high sandy ridge, there was a long low 
adobe hut. It had a door in the centre, and 
two small grated windows placed near the roof. 
It was the jail or city prison. We had occa- 
sion once to seek a person in its vicinity ; 
meeting there an acquaintance, " one in autlio- 
rity," I begged that we raiglit go inside to see 
what was in there. I never made even an un- 
reasonable request in vain in Texas, where the 
men are so gallant, and my wish was soon 
granted. We entered the central apartment, a 
kind of square hall, lighted from a window in 
the rear, which was occupied by the jailor; two 



172 followintt tiir drum. 

other apartments opened from it on either side, 
which formed the cells for the prisoners. Both 
were occupied. In one was a Mexican, a me- 
lancholy-looking youth, sitting on a stone bench, 
his head resting on his hands, his dishevelled 
locks and sad eyes the personification of mild 
despair. Looking upon him as a physiognomist, 
I should have judged him to be a person ot 
sweet disposition and quite inoffensive. But 
appearances are generally deceitful, and in this 
case they certainly were. He had performed a 
prominent part quite recently in a real tra- 
gedy. 

He and a companion had been fellow-travel- 
lers from Koma, a town a few miles off. Feel- 
ing sanguinary during the night, on account of 
some dispute relative to the dried beef they 
were bringing with them to Eio Grande City to 
sell, he, Jael-like, had driven a butcher's knife 
into his friend's head, leaving it there as a token 
of the strength of his feelings towards him ! and 
went on with his merchandise alone. 

A party of merchants coming the same road 
a few hours after, discovered tlie body and se- 



F L l1d W I N G THE DRUM. 17^5 

cured the murderer, and he was here awaiting 
liis sentence and final doom. 

After hearing this story I began to discover 
(with the eye of a physiognomist !) a doggedly 
wicked look of cruelty about him, and my pity 
vanished with it. 

In the other cell there was a person of a very 
different description. He was a fine intelligent- 
looking American, who on " a spree" had killed 
another man. He said that since the morning 
he had awaked to find himself a mnrderer, he 
had felt that he could never raise his head 
again. "While my companions were in the oppo- 
site cell, I had a chance to hear all his woes in 
detail, and how dear life now appeared to him 
from the threshold of the grave, &c. &c. He 
w^as a most interesting specimen of a criminal. 
I suggested to him a way to escape by tearing 
down a fallible part of the opposite wall, and 
as we left wished him success in his efforts, in 
the face of the officials, who, much to my dis- 
gust, instead of sternly trying to silence me, 
smiled good-naturedly. 

That night Bacchus offered temptations to the 



174 FOLLOWING THE lb RUM. 

jailor, to Avliicli, as many a good man has done 
"before and since, lie yielded, and my quondam 
fiiend escaped, to my great satisfaction and de- 
light. 

The graveyard at Ringgold Ban-acks was a 
sad and melancholy spot. Long dismal rows of 
graves of victims of cholera and massacre, with 
only a small numbered stick to mark each grave, 
the name of its occupant alone to be discovered 
by referring to the record book of the hospital. 

These graves, in spite of all care and precau- 
tion, could not be protected from the ravages of 
wild beasts, principally herds of "cayote" or 
small wolves, who, fierce and bloody, and urged 
by ravenous hunger, continually prowled around 
the garrison at night. Their dismal bowlings 
sounded like the moaning of the sea waves, and 
lulled me to sleep every night during our stay 
in Texas. 

These forsaken graves were principally those 
of soldiers from the ranks; but among them 
were those of two gallant officers, marked alone 
by a wooden cross, with the initials of their 
name and the date of their death. One had 



F O L L U AV 1 X (4 T H E D K U M . 175 

died homeward bound, on his route from Cali- 
fornia; the other had been drowned in the 
Eio Grande, seized with a vertigo while bath- 
ing. 

In one corner of this desolate inclosure was 
the grave of a little child, only a year old, who 
had been buried here till the proper time of 
removal came. Different specimens of the cac- 
tus were planted carefully around it, where it lay 
by itself apart from the rest. 

I often walked that way, and felt the deepest 
sympathy for the mother far away, who had 
been forced to go and leave her baby in this 
wretched place. As I looked at the little lonely 
grave, which even the wild beasts seemed to 
respect, for they left it unmolested, in the wil- 
derness among the remains of murdered men, 
I felt the tenderest interest in the spot. 

Unfitting resting-place for a little child. Yet 
there was another little grave beside it when 
I came away. 



176 FOLLOWING THE DRUM 

" We half forget 
How sunder human ties, 

When round the silent place of rest 
A gathered kindred lies. 

"'Tlie place ic, puritied with hope, 

The hope that is of prayer ; 
And human love and heavenward thought^ 

And trusting faith are there. 
The wild flowers spring amid the grass, 

And many a stone appears, 
Carved by affection's memory, 

Wet with affection's tears. 

* The golden cord which binds us all 
Is loosed, not rent in twain ; 
And love and hope and fear unite 
To bring the past again. 

But this grave was so desolate 
With no remembering stone." 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 17< 



CIIAPTEK XYI. 



" Come fill your glasses, fellows, and stand up in a row I 
For to sentimental drinking we're a going, for to go 1 

May the army be augmented — may promotion be less slow, 
May our country iu the hour of peace be ready for the foe ; 
Award each state a regiraeut of regulars who know 
Tlieh officers were chosen chums of Benny Havens, 0!"* 

Old West Point Song. 

One morning there was quite a stir in camp. 
General Harney (that prince of dragoons) hear- 

* "Benny Havens" was the keeper of a small drinking-house 
just outside the limits of the U. S. jurisdiction at West Pouat. 
This house was the scene of many glorious "sprees," whose 
utter abandon would be quite wonderful to citizens. Of courBe 
they were indulged in under the most dreadful penalty from 
head-quarters, but iu proportion to the penalty was the sup- 
posed manliness and nerve of the proceeding. '' Benny " was a 
puprerae favorite in tlie i'"ip.s, and liis bad liquor was ambrosii* 

to his guest* 

11 



178 F L L O W INC THE I) R U M . 

iiig: rumors of imiiieroiis filibuster iiiid Indian 
troubles, had come down from ]^ortliern Texas, 
to administer '^jcsse^"^ generally to all delin- 
quents, and let the community at large feel 
that he was ^' about.'*'' 

Even in these wild regions the dragoons rode 
into camp in full equipment, on prancing horses, 
with their carbines and sabres glistening in the 
early morning sunlight, apparently just ready 
for inspection. 

A more dashing, w^ell drilled set of men, it is 
the pride of their commanding officer to know, 
does not exist. 

While at Kinggold Barracks, some Mexican 
officers from Camargo crossed the river to pay 
General Harney a visit of state; they dis- 
mounted and left their horses at the door of the 
commanding officer's quarters, in charge of 
their orderlies, who had accompanied them. 
These latter, tempted by the offered hospitality 
of the soldiers' mess-room, left their charge for 
a while. When the distinguished guests came 
to depart, they found that the silver-mounted 
pistols, that they had left in the holsters of their 



F O I. L O U^ I N G THE DRUM, 179 

saddles, liad disappeared, much to the chagrin 
of our officers, whose sense of hospitality and 
honor were very much annoyed by the trans- 
action* The next morning the thief was dis- 
covered among the newly arrived dragoons. 
I saw the meeting between him and Gene- 
ral Harney, who stood on the piazza. He 
seized the culprit by the nape of the neck, like 
a kitten, and administered a good shaking and 
moral lecture combined, the former probably 
by far the most effective ! 

He was (as may be imagined by this fact) a 
man of tremendous physique, and strong im- 
petuous passions, yet tender-hearted in the ex- 
treme towards children or animals. As I heard 
a Texan remark, he was " one of your high 
flung fellers." 

This same high flung or high toned spirit is 
the pervading trait of our army. Mean-spirited 
men are the rare exceptions. The cadet breathes 
it in with the air of his Alma Mater, and so 
strong is its influence, that through life it guides 
his course with straightforward integrity. 

On another occasion General Whiting, another 



180 F O T. L < ) W I X G THE D R U M .' 

specimen of our brave officers, visited us on a 
general tour of inspection throughout Texas. 
He was a polished gentleman of the old school ; 
bland, courteous, and possessed of an affability 
that made him extremely popular. He seemed 
a man who would meet the most startling emer- 
gency calmly, yet with undaunted courage. 

The "stuff" that forms our army is of the 
noblest kind. How illiberal are the murmurs 
at the expenditure that provides such a bulwark 
of strength to guard our outposts. 

Little does the casual observer at West Point 
know of the after existence of its graduates, and 
their lives of exile and privation on the frontier, 
passed in lonely seclusion from the world, a 
stranger to its luxuries, almost a stranger to 
the ordinary comforts of civilization. 

In our populous cities, where the refinements 
of life are easily attained, the officers of the 
army are seldom met. The wild deer, and red 
men of the prairie, are more familiar to them 
than are the people of their own race. Their 
lives are too often yielded in some ignoble 
border skirmish, sacrificed ingloriously to their 



F o T. T. (') \r I \ n T UK n R r .\r . 181 

country, leaving a nameless grave on some dis- 
tant, unfrequented spot. 

The small detachments which are scattered 
along our vast frontier, make up in bravery 
Avhat they lack in numbers; always ready, at a 
moment's warning, to repel the attacks of the 
savages, or to pursue and punish tlieir predatory 
bands. 

"Wherever the adventurous pioneer erects his 
cabin, they are there to protect him in its pos- 
session. Days of weary marching, nights of 
sleepless watching, whether in the sierras of the 
Korth, the prairies of the West, or Jie savannahs 
of the South, their lives are always the same. 
Like a chain of sentinels, their insufficient garri- 
sons are stretched from the south-east to the 
extreme north-west; the reveille waking loud 
echoes on the rock-bound shores of Oreg(^ii, 
while the tattoo softly murmurs through tlie 
orange groves of Florida. 



182 F O L L O W I X G THE T) P. V M 



CHAPTEK XYIL 

CAMAEGO. 

The occasion of a great national fair which was 
annually held at Camargo, an ancient Mexican 
town on the other side of the river, directly op- 
posite Eio Grande City, afforded an excellent 
occasion for visiting that place, as these fairs 
bring together a large number of Mexicans, with 
the peculiar productions of the different sections 
of the country. Having been duly provided 
with passports, embellished with the usual floui-- 
ishes of the pen inseparable from all Mexican 
official documents, we crossed the river, wagon 
and all, by a rope ferry, in a rather rickety and 
diminutive old scow. 

We were received, on landing, by some dirty, 
lialf clothed soldiers, placed there by the custom- 
liouse officials, to see that no goods w^ere brought 
into the country without paying duty. As these 



F O L L U W 1 N G T HE U K U M . 183 

VN-ortliies made it a matter of conscience to steal 
only two thirds of all tliat tliey received, tliey 
v\'ere of course very vigilant ! They looked care- 
lessly at our passports, and we went on our way 
unmolested. 

The city lay three miles from the shore. The 
drive to it was delightful, through a kind of lane, 
lined on either side with low flowering shrubs 
and brushwood. Sweet-scented flowers covered 
the gi'ound, and vines clambered on each bush 
and scrubby, stunted tree. Their fragrance ou 
the softened air was at times almost overpow- 



" Close fondled by the impassioned wind. 
Their perfume came and went upon the sense 
Like faint waves on a shore.'' 

On our way we passed many parties going 
to Camargo. Mexican girls, riding on a 
mule's back, in full holiday dress of a short, 
bright petticoat, falling in ample folds, a white 
cl' ,isette and dark corsage, with the graceful 

Dosa. They had bright, expressive faces ; 
but tlieir complexions were generally dark and 



l-'S-i F () L I, « > \V I N <; T H E I» R U M. 

coarse, which destroycHl tliat appearance of re- 
finement po essential to a beanty tliat can inspire 
^ cultivated taste witli admiration. Tlie men 
rode on mules, Frequently a woman was seat- 
ed on a pillion behind them, carrying a bambino 
for the priest to christen at Camargo. 

At length a turn in the road brought us in 
mglit of the town. The round stone tower of the 
quaint old cathedral, surmounted by a belfry 
and a massive stone cross, seemed to terminate 
the road. 

On the immediate outskirts of the town lies a 
burial ground, which has been there for centu- 
ries. It is surrounded by a high, ungainly-look- 
ing brick wall, with a singularly colossal mas- 
sive gateway in the Alhambric style. 

There are traces of great former splendor dis- 
cernible everywhere in Camargo, which was 
formerly a place of considerable consequence, 
but of late years has been falling into a state of 
dilapidation. Most of the houses are built of 
stone, always but one stoiy high, Avith flat roofs, 
►and the whole place is as un-American in its ap- 
pearance, both as regards the architecture of its 



FOLLOWING THE D P. U AI . 1S5 

buildings and the character of its inhnhitants, as 
it would be possible to imagiue. 

A quadrangular plaza, faced by dilapidated 
stone buildings, centuries old, forms a centre 
from which diverge a series of streets, with pro- 
miscuous houses, some of logs, or adobes, with 
thatched roofs, and some mere shelters from the 
sun, that a summer wind might destroy. A few 
of the houses still bear traces of fresco on their 
exteriors, and many of elaborate stone carving, 
while the doors and windows are heavily bar- 
red, like those of Havana, giving a gloomy, 
prison-like aspect to the city. 

This precaution is taken that the whole house 
may be thrown open and yet protected. It 
gives the inhabitants a very small share of pri- 
vacy, and a stranger walking through the streets 
gets quite an insight into their inner life. 

We went inside of the cathedral, an anti- 
quated pile falling rapidly into decay, where 
the priest (an outrageous old sinner) daily mum- 
bles a Latin mass to a superstitious, ignorant 
audience, who regard even his most flagrant sins 
witli pious reverence. 



180 F <> Ti L W TNG THE I) H U M. 

Tliere was but one long, niirrow aisle, and two 
transepts, forming a cross, and a high altar, witli 
low shrines on either side ; one to that once 
erring saint, Peter, and the other inscribed to 
the Queen of Heaven — some wax figures, larger 
than life, of the Crucifixion, the Virgin, and 
several of the Apostles, formed one of the most 
fearful and unnatural groups the imagination 
can picture. There was one very old and very 
lovely picture in the church, in the rich deep 
coloring of the Spanish school, representing the 
sweet face of Mary with the child, in wliich — 

"The maid mother, by a crucifix, 
In tracts of pasture, sunny warm. 
Sat smiling — babe in arms.' 

While we were in the cathedral a Texan whom 
we knew, and wlio resided in Camargo, came in 
search of us, bringing an invitation from some 
Spanish ladies, with their compliments, and 
hopes that we would pass the time we were in 
Camargo under their roof. I was quite anxious 
to see a specimen of high life in Mexico, in con- 
trast with tlie peasant life, of which I had seen 
BO much, and accepted their invitation. 



F L Ti O W T X T f I K DRUM, 1 ST 

Fulluwing our conductor, we scfbn found our ' 
selves in an old dilapidated stone porcli, its many 
traces of former beauty fast crumbling away, 
vanishing among " the things that were." 

The family came out with a warm welcome to 
meet us, and we were ushered into a large, cool, 
any drawing-room, off the front door, adorned 
with pictures, and leading into a dining-room in 
the rear, which w^as paved with stone tilesj the 
back of the room opening with a large arched 
way into a yard and garden in the rear, where 
ruined fountains and stone benches showed that 
there had once been extensive and tasteful plea- 
sure grounds. A cool breeze swept through the 
half darkened rooms, giving a very refreshing 
feeling of repose after our somewhat warm 
drive. 

The eldest sister of the family, named Dolores, 
had lost her husband a year before from the 
cholera, at the same time with her father and 
mother, and she with her two younger sisters 
had been left under the care of an elder brotlier, 
in possession of the familv house. She was a 
widow — but not one of tliose disconsolate and 



1 SS F O L L O W T X G T H R D R U M . 

irrepariibly "Bereaved kind, who look upon tlie 
remainder of their lives as a state of probation. 
On the contrary, her eyes literally glowed with 
showers of smiles and animation, and her rich 
dark hair was plaited in massive braids on either 
side of her face, in the most coquettish manner 
possible. She was not five-and-twenty, and they 
said her husband had been " a brute !" Some old 
play says " all married women's husbands are 
brutes !" but the play is a comedy, and they 
sometimes exaggerate. She w\as beautiful, and 
had what the world technically calls " a favored 
suitor." AYho could blame her if after a year's 
mourning she smiled coquettishly ? 

Considering the serious drawback of my speak- 
ing very bad Si^anisli, and she speaking very 
bad French, our conversation was remarkably 
animated, continuous, and even philosophical ! 
I quite agreed with her that the most absurd 
thing a young and charming widow could do, 
was to barter a self-created chain of roses for 
the iron links of Hymen. 

The two younger sisters, Inanita and Antoi- 
netta, and a staid elderly brotlier, formed the 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 189 

fmiiily. Tliese former were not as decidedly 
liandsome or as decidedly intelligent as Dolores, 
altliougli rather in her style, but as they were 
both redolent of "bread and butter," it was 
hardly fair to judge prematurely of their attrac- 
tions ; that bouquet must have entirely vanished, 
before the fascinations can fully develope them- 
selves. When dinner was announced I was 
handed with no little ceremony, by Don Jesu, 
into the dining-room, which opened on the gar- 
den in the rear, through a stone archway. Simi- 
lar arches on either side opened, on the one 
hand, into a long low kitchen, and on the other 
into the carriage-house, where stood the massive 
family coach, covered with brass mountings and 
armorial bearings, but which was seldom used, as 
their means could not supply the necessary 
horses and men. Tlie coach, however, remained 
a relic of the departed glories of their line, and 
was preserved with almost religious care. It 
seems impossible to entirely eradicate the 
old Cabtilian pride of blood. In all the bet- 
ter class of houses, both here and in Havana, 
the roojii for the carriage is in qIohq vicinity to 



190 FOLLOWING THE DRUM 

other suites of apartments. In it the family pets 
generally find a home. This one was full of 
wicker-work cages of strange and beautiful 
birds, orioles and mocking-birds, those " nightin- 
gales of the south." Several fearful, unnatural- 
looking, but highly prized ducks, roamed tamely 
at large, and often found their way in very un- 
comfortably close vicinity to the feet of an un- 
suspecting guest. A tame stork with a very 
vicious face, tied by the leg, made me fearfully 
nervous that he might escape from restraint. 
A beautiful little paroquet, pea-green, with a 
crimson top-knot and very knowing eyes, kept 
repeating his own praises continually, in every 
mood and tone peculiar to that conceited and self- 
appreciating race of birds. A tame fawn exqui- 
sitely small and beautiful, and a glass basin -of 
gold fish, completed this zoological list. Tlie 
Mexican women are very fond of pets, especially 
a race of dogs, that are jet black, without any 
hair. They seem to be made of black india-rubber, 
and are anything but beautiful, although they 
are cherished with the greatest fondness by 
their mistresses, who manufacture a peculiar 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 191 

kind of sufc wool cusbion, of various shades of 
Lriglit colors, for them to lie on. The Chihuahua 
dogs are rare, even here in such close vicinity 
to Mexico, but they are in great demand, on ac- 
count of their beauty. They are less than a foot 
long, and six or eight inches high, looking as if 
they might have been imported by Gulliver, on 
his return from the kingdom of Lilliput. 

The dinner was of a most peculiar description, 
to a pei-son unused to Mexican customs and habits 
of life. It commenced with a compound of leeks, 
onions, and red peppers, a kind of soap, of 
which the smell was sufficient for one course. 
A pyramid of spun sugar, flanked by two mas- 
sive silver flagons of vin ordinaire, ornamented 
the centre of the table. The rest of the table 
equipage was plain and American. Tlie second 
coui'se was formed of a large dish of beef and 
mutton stewed together, and small apples and 
peaches stewed whole with it. These were 
piled in the centre with an embankment of 
maglied yellow turnips surrounding it. I was 
getting dreadfully nervous, for fear the dinner 
might pass without mv sense of courtesy fore- 



192 FOLLOWING T H E , D R U M . 

iiig me to taste even a iiioutliful of die extraor- 
dinary viands of semi-barbaric food. A dish of 
frijoles at length appeared, and caused a deep 
sigh of relief on my part. Chickens, with rice, 
sugar, and pepper, all boiled up together, regard- 
less of small feathers, followed, and then came 
the dessert, dulcies of candied cactus and 
melons, made by the Sefioritas themselves, 
wdiich were really beautiful, a bright green, cov- 
ered with a coat of crystallized sugar. A peon or 
blave stood behind each chair, besides several 
extra ones, whose duty it was to go to the 
kitchen, where two women on their knees were 
rolling and baking tortillas as rapidly as they 
could, which the attendants took hot from the 
fire, on the palms of their disagreeable looking 
hands, and bringing them to the table, would 
literally jla]) them (vide Johnson) down on the 
cloths beside every one's plate. These are used 
in the place of bread ; they are made o? ground 
or crushed corn, and are baked in large flat 
cakes the size of sea-biscuit, on a peculiar kind 
of broad, open oven, which article, it is a singular 
fact, is uianufactiired for the Mexican market 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 193 

ill the city of Kew York, The tortillas seem 
c[uite tasteless and unpalatable to a person un- 
used to them, but are very generally used by all 
classes of Mexicans. It is very amusing to 
watch the women on their knees rolling out 
the dough on a wooden tray, and then baking 
them. 

After dinner and cafe now came the cigars 
and cigaritos. Dolores offered to initiate me 
into the universal custom in the country of smok- 
ing, with many jokes at my being so an fait for 
a novice, such an apt scholar, &c., &c. 

I had heard a great deal of the grace with 
which these donnas handled their cigaritos, but 
as I had seen a Iwufie or two during my 
few brief summers, I thought that, compara- 
tively speaking, they had been very much 
overrated. 

Dolores took me to her chambre a coucher^ 

and showed me many of her treasures, books, 

pictui'es, and embroideries, all of which displayed 

refinement of taste and a higher culture than is 

generally found in a place where there are so 

few advantages ol' education to profit bv. Thev 
12 " 



1 9 i 1' O L L O A\^ 1 ^" G T H E ]; U U M. 

had o\or a dozen peons or slaves, whose prin- 
cipal hnsiness seemed to l)e to lie aronnd idle, 
witlioiit any, effort at occupying themselves more 
than was absolutely necessary. One of them, a 
girl of about eighteen, had never seen an Ame- 
rican woman before, and got into raptm'es over 
even so humble a specimen of them as myself, 
saying: ^^ComohelM! comohlanGCi P'' (how beauti- 
ful ! how white !) All the peons crowded around 
at lier exclamations, to look at the ^'' Senorita 
}>lanca^'' and finally the girl could restrain her 
feelings of intense admiration no longer, but 
after patting and stroking my hands, saying they 
luid never rolled tortillas (a fact which I did not 
deny), she gave me a sudden and overpowering 
]iug, which entirely took away my breath. 
Bather a familiar and disgusting evidence of 
admiration ! Another peon, a withered old 
crone, almost bent in two with age, sat rocking 
herself backwards and forwards on a stone bench 
in the garden. Tliey told me she was insane, 
imd had been so for more than fifty years, 
having at that far ofl[' period been crossed in 
love by an officer from the city of Mexico, who, 



F U L !. O W I N Cr 'I H E 1) K IJ M . 10£ 

it seems, like tlie "false young knight" of old, 
" had loved and then rode awaj." 

This O-d and lovelorn damsel had, since her 
wits had taken leave of her, lived on the public, 
owning no one place for a home, and yet for over 
fifty years she had been well clothed, well fed, 
and sheltered, although there were no insane 
asylum funds or taxes — speaking well for the 
humanity of the inhabitants of Camargo. 

Except the many booths where ordinary 
American trifles and merchandise were sold, and 
an extra crowd of loungers in the streets, we saw 
no evidence of the great national fair. "We 
found we had arrived literally "a day too late 
for the fair." It had been held for the past 
week, and the merchants and visitors were now 
separating for their different homes. The last 
of the bull-fights (to my everlasting regret) had 
taken place the night before. That evening 
there was to be a ball and fireworks, as a "wind 
up" to this festal season. The fireworks ot 
Mexico are famous for their beauty ; those made 
by Europeans and Americans cannot be com- 
pared to them, Dolores entreated us to stay at 



196 FOLLOWINGTHE DRUM. 

tlieir lioiLse all niglit, but that being impossible, 
we bade them a cordial, almost an affectionate, 
adieiij with promises of a speedy reciprocation 
of mj visit on their part. 

Circumstances which closely followed, induced 
them to leave Camargo and take up their per- 
manent residence in the city of Mexico, thus 
effectually preventing our meeting again. 



TOLL () ^V ! N G T 11 E P K T M . J 0' 



CHAPTEK XYin. 



FrLIBUSTERIKG. 



As Christmas approached, rumors of revohi- 
tion on the Mexican frontier became rife ; bands 
of filibusters were heard of in the neighbor- 
liood, and political intrigue absorbed all other 
topics of interest. A scheme had been arranged 
for some time past between General Can ales, 
the General-in-chief of the Mexican militia, and 
General Arista, the President of the Republic 
of Mexico, to declare the northern portions of 
that country (where the latter owned vast pos- 
sessions) an independent State, which in the 
course of time they proposed to annex to the 
United States, and in the meanwhile to demand 
our support and protection, under the new title 
of the " Republic of Sierra Madre." 

The most prominent and active leader in the 
cause was Caravajal, one of the shrewdest 



198 F o I, L o w I X ( r T n K I) t; u m . 

Btatesmeu of Mexico — a man of astute intellect, 
and more than ordinary mental culture. The 
plans of these diplomatic heads were for a 
bloodless revolution. The troops belonging to 
the regular army of Mexico had all been with- 
drawn from the frontier, and the militia (paid 
vassals and confederates in the scheme) placed 
there, agreeing to silently and indisputably sur- 
render all power to him. Under this new phase 
of government, taxes and the custom-houses 
were alike to be abolished, and a free trade to 
be established with the United States. 

These plans were confided to many of the 
Texan lodge of Free-Masons, to which fraternity 
Caravajal belonged, and as their interests as 
merchants were a good deal involved in the 
issue, they joined heartily with the revolu- 
tionists. 

Caravajal was by education an American, al- 
though most patriotically devoted to the land of 
his birth. He had acquired a superior classical 
education at the University of Kentucky, where 
he had graduated, and consequently was men- 
tally superior to most of his countrymen, the 



FOLLOWIXG THE DRUM 199 

Mexican institutions, for tlie education of youtli 
being of a very inferior descrij^tion. 

He was a small man, with a dark complexion 
and an eagle eye, the beauty of his excessively 
ugly face — like a Scotch terrier — consisting of 
this 'very ngliness combined with an ex- 
pression of great intelligence. The first time 
that I saw hun, I was on horseback, riding 
across the chapparal to the ranche, on a shop- 
ping expedition, to purchase a few of the many 
luxuries to be found there. When we met 
Caravajal, I knew him in an instant, by the 
etylish way in which he wore his black felt 
sombrero, by the silver-mounted pistols in his 
belt, and by the pure English accent of his salu- 
tation. 

The Texans, impatient for the moment to arrive 
wlien the custom-houses and taxes w^re to be 
done away with, and their goods in consequence 
pass into Mexico free of duty, were annoyed at 
the slow and decidedly un-American style in 
which affairs were being conducted, and there- 
for^ determined to infuse a little more " patrio- 
tism" (as the}" called it) into the counsels of tlie 



200 F O T. L O W I N a T R K D R U M .^ 

leaders. Tli rough them i\ new turn was given to 
affairs, and what was in the first place to have 
heen effected by diplomacy, was now destined to 
terminate in a series of sanguinary engagements, 
with rapine, mnrder, and destruction in their 
train. These commenced directly opposite us, 
in the siege of Camargo by a mixed army of 
Americans and Mexicans, led on by Caravajal, 
roused to so high a pitch of enthusiasm, that 
men from the ranks were daily deserting tlie 
garrison of Ringgold Barracks to Join them. 

On the morning of the battle we were 
awakened at dawn by the roar of cannon and 
the din of musketry that told of the engagement 
that was going on, w^ithin less than three miles 
of us. The point of the highest eminence in the 
garrison was a balcony surrounding the flag- 
staff, whicli was placed on a high ridge of land ; 
a flight of winding steps led to it. "We hurried 
there to see what we could of the fight. 
. Tlie cold grey dawn of December was just 
melting under the warm influence of early day 
A few stars shone dimly around the faint out- 
line of a new moon, and the crimson and 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 201 

golden rays of a southern sun glowed and 
sparkled on the frosty air as it rose slowly in the 
horizon over the mountains des Lampases. 

With the exception of one mountain range, 
the sun'ounding country was flat, and on every 
side prairie lands lay stretched as far as the eye 
could see, till sky and land seemed merged into 
an indistinct vapor. The Kio Grande wound its 
sluggish way amidst its barren sandy banks, more 
like a wide canal than a river. The buildings 
of Camp Ringgold lay at our feet. A little fur- 
ther up the river was Rio Grande City. Flags 
were hoisted from the house-tops, and signs of 
an unusual bustle and excitement prevailed. 
Almost directly opposite lay Camargo, the scene 
of the battle. A heavy, dull, vapory cloud 
hung over the country in that direction, 
and the firing of guns, wild yells of men ar*d 
neighing of hoi-ses, in mingled confusion, cauie 
wafted to us at intervals on the clear morning 
breeze, giving token of the struggle that "was 
going on between the filibuster and Mexican 
f<:>rce8. 

The Mexican troops, who occupied the to\T-n, 



202 FOLLOWING THE DV.V M . 

had taken tlie precaution to leave tlieir barracks 
the moment thej learned of the approach of the 
iilibnsterSj and formed on the plain, outside of 
the city walls. They knew by experience with 
what skill the Americans penetrated through the 
houses by making holes in the walls, thus passing 
from house to house, covering themselves from 
the fire of the enemy, until they were in close 
riiie distance, when, each man taking a careful 
aim, a deadly fire would be opened upon them 
such as few troops (and especially Mexicans) 
could withstand. It was to avoid all this that 
they had determined to meet the assailants out- 
side of the tov^^n, a man<Buvre entirely unex- 
pected by the filibusters. The ])attle was there- 
fore commenced sooner than they had antici- 
pated. At the first fire, the Mexican allies of 
the filibusters fled in every direction. All at- 
tempts to rally them were vain. Many in their 
flight plunged into the river and were drowned. 
The few Americans were left alone. Tliese 
gathered together around their only piece of ar- 
tillery, determined to die ratlier than yield the 
field. 



P L T. W I X a THE D R u :n[ . 203 

The Mexican foe oiituumbered them ten Uj 
one. This did not daunt them. The leaden 
storm swept through their ranks, and thinned 
their numbers. Still they stood their ground. 
The fugitives brought word to the Americans 
on our side of the river of the critical position 
of their friends; the greatest excitement pre- 
vailed. Every American not in the army, armed 
himself for the rescue. The regular soldiers 
would have gone had they dared. Even the 
women wanted to go. Clay Davis, who had 
remained aloof until now, mounted his horse 
and rode out to an encampment of Carese 
Indians. Soon he reappeared with his face 
painted red, followed by the whole band of 
Indians, yelling at the top of th^r lungs, bran- 
dishing their tomahawks and spears. 

Gathering hastily into boats, they were drawn 
swiftly across the river, and darting up the 
banks they disappeared in the cliapparal to- 
ward* the scene of action. 

In the meanwhile the firing had ceased. It 
was a moment of fearful suspense, for we 
thouQ-ht the little band had been forced to sur- 



204 F o Ti T, o w T V a t it e d k u :\r . 

I'eiidoi*, but loud cheers soon told us that the 
ludians had arrived, and the firing was again 
renewed with redoubled spirit, and 

" All day long the noise of battle 
EoUed among the mountains." 

Happily, night came and put a stop to the un- 
equal s-trife. 

The silence which followed the suspension of 
hostilities was broken in upon at sunset by the 
vesper chimes, which floating once more from 
the old cathedral towers, on the evening air, told 
a story of peace, contrasting strongly with the 
recent conflict. The bells tolled forth a solemn 
requiem, that fell soothingly on the ear of the 
dying, and over the dead that had fallen. The 
atmosphere was cleared from the smoke of bat- 
tle, and the domes and towers of Camargo 
rose up clearly against the tw^iliglit sky, the 
fiery crimson of a peculiar sunset casting a red 
glow on nature. In other centuries and other 
climes, this sign would have been looked upon 
as a symbol from Mars, smiling on heroic deeds, 
on receivino^ to his realms the warriors that had 



F O T. Ti < ) W 1 X (1 T H K 1) K U M . 2^5 

been aLiiii. Xu one tliought of this, and I evL'ii 
heard one of our party (a Major over forty) re- 
mark that the sunset promised a hot day in store 
for UB ! The world gets every day more painfully 
matter of fact, and the imagination becomes 
cramped and subdued by utilitarianism ! Poets, 
it is well known, are yearly becoming rarer, 
and even a poetic temperament now yearns for 
a court office and salary to inspire its muse! 
The most daring deed, and the most glowing 
lyre, may linger for the moment on our ears and 
then pass into entire forgetfulness— a mere rip- 
ple on the smooth sea of our common-place ex- 
istence. Where, now, grow the laurel and the 
bay tree to furnish crowns for the poet or the 

hero ? 

The- next morning developed a most peculiai 
and unparalleled circumstance in the annals of 
Avar. On the previous day the filibusters came 
to the conclusion that as their forces were dimi- 
nishing, and their ammunition giving out, they 
would prove the maxim that " the better part of 
valor is discretion," and retire to replenish their 
forces and fire-arnib, to renew the attack with 



206 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

iiio]-e assured prospects of success. Simulljine- 
oiisly with tlie filibusters' fit of discretion, a pa- 
nic struck tlie Mexican troops (wlio are iiinato 
cowards), and as one party beat a retreat in one 
direction, the other party fled in an opposite 
one, leaving the late scene of contest in sole 
possession of the priests, the women and chil- 
dren, the infirm and the dying. These began 
making immediate preparations to cross (with 
their possessions) to the American side of the 
river, where they knew their lives and proper- 
ties would be more secure. 

Our horses were ready at the door, and we 
rode np to Rio Grande City to hear the particu- 
lars of yesterday's engagement. The scene that 
met us there was unexpectedly full of novelty 
and raciness. The river seemed alive with 
groups of refugees, in row boats and flat boats, 
crossing the river, fleeing from the revolutionary 
ravages. Children of every age, peasant women 
with bright petticoats and rebosas, aged crones 
with whitened locks and bent forms, tottering 
old men with long silvered beards, patriarclis, 
eripplet^, and bambino^^, all that wat pilifiil ana 



FOLLOWING THE DKUM. 2<»7 

lielpless ill liuinan nature, seemed to be wafted 
across, and landed on the shores, as if there were 
safety and protection in the very sand banks 
on which they landed, because they bore the 
(to them) sacred name of one of the United States, 
the home of "the proud Americans" as they ad- 
miringly call us. 

E'owhere are we more respected, even vene- 
rated, as a nation than by these simple and 
ignorant peasantry of our border. All the vital- 
ity that they know is due to our influence, which 
comes to their stagnant land as refreshingly a.s 
rain to a drooping parterre, and causes civiliz- 
ation to Adw through these regions, like its river 
Kio Bravo del Xorte, bringing with it the only 
blessing this barren country has ever known. 

The American elements that have spread 
here have given a new impulse, where but a 
short time ago all was torpid and lifeless. On 
the plaza were gathered clusters of filibusters, 
among them many who have since become 
doubly notorious for their daring and braveiy 
under General Walker, at ISTicaragua. Kumors of 
CaravajaFs near neighborhood were whispered 



208 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

about, and I recognised in a little dark-eyed^ 
curlv-headed boy, a likeness to the famous 
border chieftain, which led me to suppose his 
family were thei'e also incog. 

Most conspicuously among these men stood 
Clay Davis, in a red shirt, bound with black 
ribbon, falling carelessly open at the neck, 
showing linen of the exquisite embroidery of 
the Mexican women, a sash and belt filled witJi 
fire-arms, a Kentucky "tooth-pick" glistening 
in its crimson sheath among them. A slouched 
black hat completed his graceful costume, which, 
with the exception of a little extra touch of 
dandyism, closely resembled that of all the fili- 
busters. I never could quite bring myself to 
the belief indulged in by many worthy people, 
that it is a sign of a weak mind to eschew 
clumsy boots and wear spotless linen ! 

xiround Mr. Davis were gathered the Indians 
whom he had led so gallantly to the rescue. 
Tliey belonged to a tribe once brave and fa- 
mous, now dwindled down to about two hundred 
warriors ; tliey were on excellent terms with the 
Mexicans and Americans, from whom they had 



F O L L O \\' I N G T H E I) K U M . 209 

learned, by occasional interconrsc, some of tlie 
rudiments of civilization. Hearing of the war- 
fare that was in prospect, they had come down 
from their northern retreats to offer their ser- 
vices in the canse of the revolutionists, of course 
expecting some remuneration in the way of 
plunder, or otherwise, as I do not think well 
enough of human nature to imagine that disin- 
terested good fellowship alone could inspire a 
band of two hundred men simultaneously ! They 
w^ere dressed in the skins of wild animals, bound 
around their loins, their hair parted in the cen- 
tre of the head, and braided down their backs 
in the style of the Misses Ken wigs. They were 
armed with bows and arrows, and rifles (sup- 
plied of conrse by the Americans), of which they 
had learned the use with great aptness. Every 
man had an arrow peculiar to himself, so that 
after tlie fight was over each one might ascer- 
tain with certainty who could claim the scalps 
of the slain. Several squaws accompanied them, 
dressed in wolf-skins, with bead work belts and 
moccasins. Their countenances were unattrac- 
tive and inexpressive : evidently they were not 
1'^ 



210 F O L L O ^\^ L X ( r T II E 1> K U M . 

troubled by any uselebfs sensibility; tliey looked 
more like men than women. They had with 
them several little coi^i^er-colored papooses 
strapped down most unmercifully to a shingle, 
on whom they seemed to scorn to lavish those 
little foolish endearments so natm*al and spon- 
taneous to the n:iaternal heart. They j-ather 
treated them like little faggots that some stern 
necessity forced them not to entirely abandon. 
A t^ger cat with its cub that I once saw might 
have put their stolidity to shame ! The main 
portion of these lovely females were encamped 
with their children some few miles distant — it 
was only a chosen few who had been brought 
down to the ranclie. 

While we stood looking on at this motley 
group, and conversing with the filibuster officers, 
a new boat arrived from the opposite shore, and 
disgorged its promiscnons crew of peasantry and 
soldiers : among them a man landed, and came 
to report himself to an officer who was talking 
to me, so that I had the full benefit of his words. 
His name was Sam Stevens, evidently a private, 
and a person of some consequence with his con 



FOLLOWING THE 1) K U M . 2 i i 

federates, who gathered around and hailed hi.s 
advent, among them with a loud shout of wel- 
come, one of them exclaiming, '' Here's a fel- 
ler that's real weather-proof, he was shot in the 
eye by a cannon ball, and it couldn't hurt 
liim !" To this, Sam modestly remarked, with a 
broad deprecating grin, "Well, it was some- 
thing of a jarP'^ which speech was received 
w^ith a perfect howl of delight by his apprecia- 
tive audience. Thus encouraged (first touching 
his hat gallantly towards me), he gave us a 
spirited account of yesterday's enagement, tell- 
ing how Major D. had "spit fire on them greas- 
ers " with his rifle, and led on the forlorn hope, 
with a tremendous amount of "pluck." From 
this his discourse flowed off into a wild rhap- 
sody on " the great cause," making abundant 
use of tlie words sovereign people, freedom, 
liberty, and other expressions peculiarly Ameri- 
can in style, all of which was received by his 
audience with rounds of hearty applause. 1 
could have remained for hours, listening and 
observing, with intense interest, the proceedings 
of these varied characters, but being with " tho 



212 F (J L L O W I N" Cr T HE T) K U M . 

officer of tlie clay," wlio liad to return at tlie 
stroke of the hour to make a tour of inspection 
of the garrison, we tiirned our horses' heads 
rehictantlj homewai-ds. 

On the following evening, as we were taking 
our accustomed ride towards Rio Grande City, 
we met a group of Mexicans and Texans bear- 
ing the corpse of a man across the chapparal 
towards the garrison burying-ground. He had 
fallen in the engagement, yesterday, mortally 
wounded, and had died that morning on the 
American side of the river. We paused as they 
passed, and one of them handed us some papers 
that had been found on the body, which was 
wrapped in a Mexican poncho, and laid on a 
rough bier. lie was young, in the first flush of 
manhood ; his finely-cut features showed refine- 
ment as well as beauty. I knew instinctively 
that there were those living whose blood would 
have been checked in its course, could they 
have seen him as 

" In the twiliglit cold and grey, 
Liieless and beautiful he lay," 



FOLLOWINT, THR D K U M 9 ;3 

no band of afi'ection to smootlie the tangled 
masses of liis liair, or to sliow those last tributes 
that love alone can offer to the dead. 

I kept the papers that these men gave me, 
and feel no scruples in giving the inferences 
that I drew ffom them, as I never found a clue 
to his history or even his name. Tliey con- 
sisted of some notes of filibuster life, and his 
letters, one evidently from his mother, written 
in a delicate tremulous hand, althouo-li the bio:- 
nature and superscription had been carefully 
destroyed. It begged her "dearest boy" to 
come home, as she could not live long without 
him. Tlie other was from his lady-love, 
and to the same effect. I felt much more 
sympathy, however, for the former than for the 
latter, for as a general rule bereaved lady-loves 
are consolable — ^but no new affection can efface 
the image of a lost child from its mother's heart ; 
no time entirely dry up her secret tears. There 
can never cease to be moments when through 
the vista of years her grief will seem as if ot 
yesterday. 

Tlie United States Court was to sit in Browns- 



214 FOLLOWING THE D P. U ^f . 

^•ille ill a few "lav:^, to try all of these ineii tlial 
coiTld be captured for a breach of tlie neutrality 
laws. The people there, as well as the press, 
took the warmest interest and felt the deepest 
sympathy in the success of the revolutionists, 
while the Court and the United States officers 
(whatever their private feelings may be) were in 
duty bound to frown on their proceedings. 
Rumors that the Texas Rangers, lately disband- 
ed from the United States service, were on their 
way to Rio Grande City, were very prevalent. 
Their object was, to get on the wilds of the 
prairies further north, beyond the influence of 
the law, and do all in their power to aid the 
filibuster forces in what they regarded as a 
rie^hteous cause. Our orovernment ordered that 
officers should be stationed with a certain 
number of men and pieces of artillery all 
along the river to prevent American citizens 
from crossing to the Mexican side, and joining 
what it denominated the rebel forces. Tlii& 
however was a very difficult, almost an imprac- 
ticable thing on so extensive a line ; the most 
they could achieve was to prevent large armed 



FOLLOWING THK DRUM. 215 

bodies from crossing. Smaller parties could not 
be stopped, and it was very easy for these to 
rendezvous and organize on tlie otlier side. 
Parties of troops vrero sent out from Ringgol<l 
Barracks to disperse any armed bodies tliat 
tliey miglit enconnter, and in tbis way allay tbe 
excitement on our side of the river at least. 

One of these parties encountered General 
Canales, the greatest guerilla chieftain of Mexico 
during, the late war with the United States. 
Tliese guerillas correspond to the " minute men" 
V>f the revolutionary war, who pursued their 
everyday vocations, unless the enemy came iu 
then* immediate vicinity, when, at a moment's 
warning, they took up arms and assembled for 
battle. Canales had been probably the most 
deadly enemj'- our army had among the hosts of 
tlieir Mexican opponents. 

Since Caravajal had broken faith with Arista 
and Canales, by telling their schemes to the 
Texan free-masons, they had ceased to act in 
concert, and when, from the Mexican shore, the 
latter saw a body of regular United States troops 
with two officers, encamped on the river's 



216 F O L L O W [ N G T I'l E D R U .\r , 

bank, lie knew iiitnitiYcly their errand, and 
raised signal flags to attract tlieir attention. 
This accomplished, an American soldier was 
imm^ediately despatched in a " dug-out," bor- 
rowed from a Mexican whose ranche lay close 
bj, and it soon relanded with this bloody chief, 
who with extended arms warmly embraced the 
American officers, many of whose friends had 
fallen killed or wounded by his hand. 

After this affectionate yet unpleasant embrace 
they drank a pledge of good fellowship, Canales 
drinking out of a silver flagon, which I still pre- 
serve, and wdiich at that time formed part of the 
camp equipage of one of the officers of the party. 
He was a cor]3ulent, greasy, and benevolent 
looking gentleman, saying more overwhelmingly 
civil things in the space of five minutes than he 
had ever felt in the whole course of his life, with 
more grace of manner than it would be supposed 
60 stout and elderly a person could muster. 
Tlie Mexicans are full of a kind of stately Sir 
Charles Grandison grandeur and dignity, which 
might be imposing to a person possessed of an 
impressible mind, but under other circum- 



F O L T. O ^V 1 N ("> T n K I) T IT M . 21 V 

Btances it appears forced, tiresome, and even 
absurd. 

Kno-^diig some of the outlaws quite inti- 
mately, I accepted an offer from one of them to 
send a message to the party who were in 
search of filibusters. CavarajaFs courier came 
and received my commission, and after riding 
express to deliver it, rode on to inform him of 
the whereabouts of the party of regulars who 
were on his track I My dreadful infnngement 
of etiquette was however gallantly winked at, 
and afforded a great topic of amusement to all 
parties. Rigidly observed orders would have 
produced a civil war, instead of attaining the 
desired object of suppressing revolutioii, and 
there w^as no little good feeling existing in many 
instances between the parties of the pursuer and 
the pursued. 



218 FOLLOWING THE D R U M 



CHAPTER XIX. 



LOS INDIOS. 



In a wild, j^ictiiresque spot near the banks of the 
river, some miles above the gari-ison, the Carese 
Indians had ])itched their camp. Here they had 
left their squaws and papooses, when they join- 
ed the filibusters in their attack on Camargo. 

A company of mounted infantry was going 
that way, where it was reported there was some 
grass growing. Tliey were going out in search 
of it, to give their horses the unwonted luxury 
of a few hours' grazing. We took advantage 
of this escort to pay a visit to the Indian en- 
campment. 

We started very early, while still — 

"The maideu glory of the morning star 
' Shone in the steadfast blue." 

Before the sun had begun to drj up the night's 



F O T. L O ^V T X a T [[ K T^ T^ T' ">r 21 

dews, onr liorses were at tlie door. Tt was a 
delicious southern winter's day — 

" A dewy morn, 
With breath all incense, and with clieek all bloom, 
Laughing the clouds away, with playful scorn. 
And livmg as if earth contained no tomb, 
And glowing into day." 

A body of armed men rode in advance of us, 
and the rest followed in onr rear. So we rode 
across tlie unbeaten prairies, with nothing Imt 
occasional sandy ridges to obstruct onr path. 
Yast level plains lay on every side of ns, with 
their scanty covering of w^eeds and wild flowers, 
the clear, bright blue sky overhead, cloudless 
except a few white vapory masses, while the soft 
perfumed air of a tropical December stole over 
the senses like the faint odor of violets. 

Tlie clashing of the sabres, and the steady, 
monotonous tramp of two hundred horses, did 
not destroy the influence of the scene. Our 
.escort moved at a gentle pace, a trot or canter 
being impracticable for any distance, as we 
were pioneering our owm road, aud a strong 



220 FOT. LOWTXa TTTK P-RUM.' 

chance of unknown impediments la}^ before lis. 
A walk, too, seemed more in harmony with the 
atmosphere and its inilnence. 

The Indian encampment, witli its " cone-like 
cabins," at length came in view, and we drew up 
onr horses before it. A yonng chieftain, abont 
ten years old, came ont to look at ns. He had 
a bright copper- colored complexion, and long, 
straight, black hair. In his hand he held a bow 
and arrow, quite in the style of " one little 
Indian boy !" 

" Picayune ! picaynne !" he showed his know- 
ledge of the English by calling out — the only 
word he knew, and he made very free use of it. 
After receiving one of these coins as an en- 
couragement to pursue his studies as a linguist, 
he disappeared ; but soon returned, with his sis- 
ter, a young squaw, the difference of whose ap- 
pearance from the other women of the tribe was 
very striking. She was the most beautiful spe- 
cimen of humanity that I ever saw, dressed in a 
wolf-skin blouse, embroidered with beads, her 
long hair, plaited in a hundred braids, falling 
around her in ebon masses. Her face was cut 



F O L T. () ^\' T V a T TT E D P. U M . 221 

US if with llie cliisel of a Plildias, tlie nostril, 
moutli, and cliin a study of beantj — " beautiful 
disdain" (of which she probably was incapable !) 
expressed in every delicate curve. Her large, 
liquid, dreamy eyes, with their heavy lashes, 
which seemed to require an effort to raise them 
from her cheek, through which shone a faint red 
flush that bespoke the Anglo-Saxon blood which 
rendered her Indian beauty so peerless. When 
she raised her eyes in their wonderful and 
dreamy loveliness, they seemed to deluge the 
spectator with beauty. She went into a tent 
and soon returned, bringing us an offering of 
milk and watermelons. A number of young 
Indians of all sizes and ages, quite "al fres- 
co," surrounded us, begging for picayunes, 
which urgent demands soon caused the sup- 
ply to fail, and the bank to suspend pay- 
ment. 

We did not dismount, as we found the r^ort 
of grass to be w^ithout foundation. Tlie sun 
may have scorched it up, or it may have been 
cut for their cattle by the Indians. Whatever 
the circumstances were, we coidd not find it. 



222 F O L L O W I N G THE I) RUM. 

and as the afternoon was waning, we left the 
camp and returned homeward. 

The cabins looked dh-ty inside, and the squaws 
and children ditto. They could not speak to us, 
and seemed more frightened than pleased, so that 
our visit was not as gratifying as 1 had antici- 
pated. Our ride home I felt to be very perilous. 
My fears pictured a lurking Camanche in the 
shadow of each bush ; we however reached 
home in ignoble safety. Keports of lurking 
Indians were so rife that my want of valor may 
be pardoned. 

Some little time after this visit, one of the 
warriors of the Carese tribe came down to King- 
gold Barracks partially on a tour of inspection, 
and partially, I suppose, to return the courtesies 
of our call. One of the sentinels on duty for- 
bade his entrance, on the plea that he had not 
on a square inch of garment! Tlie aborigine 
wasi inclined to dispute the point, when the offi- 
cer of the day appeared, and insinuated, as deli- 
cately as possible, how much pleasure it would 
give us to receive him in a little fuller dress ! 
lie took the hint and departed, appearing a lit- 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 223 

tie later in the day, arrayed in the imposing cos- 
tume of a voluminous white cotton sheet, look- 
ing like the sail of a schooner at half mast ! 
, : This delicate tribute to our more fastidious 
tastes, or (as he might have regarded them) 
false prejudices, obtained for him an interview, 
and I had an opportunity to prove that it did 
not require an educated taste to appreciate 
French bonbons, with which I regaled him ; for 
this " red man of the prairies" devoured them all 
most remorselessly and with evident gusto. I 
wonder if the noble Hiawatha would have done 
the same ! I hope not, for the sake of poetic 
association ! 

xibont this time the Camanches became very 
troublesome in the neighborhood ; several dread- 
ful cases of murder and rapine occurred in our 
innnediate vicinity. Tlie commanding officer 
considered it his duty to send off all the officers 
and most of the men to try and terrify this dar- 
ing foe. He remained himself at the garrison, 
with a small number of men, not sufficient to 
defend it properly, however. I felt very solitary 
in the nearly deserted camp, entirely alune hi 



22-1 FOLLOWING T U E T) R r M . 

my little liousc. At uiglit I never dared to light 
a caudle, for fear of giving a better aim to tlie 
arrow of some rascally savage without. My 
black esquire used to go off to fandangoes every 
night, and I was deprived of the companionship 
of my only protector, old " Jack," a black tan 
terrier, with the most roguish ears and most 
" druv in " of tails, by his wild excitement when- 
ever he heard a drum beat. He slept in my 
room for two nights, but at reveille he would 
rouse me by a fit of barking that rendered him 
intolerable ! I gave him in charge of one of our 
Sergeants, who professed a very warm attach- 
ment for him, saying he " loved him better than 
his own child that he had left in the State of 
Maine," which triumph over paternal love I 
rewarded by giving him Jack for his " bun- 
kie !" 

Jack used to come and scratch with his 
yellow foot at the door to get his breakfast 
every morning, and ask for it with his bright 
brown eyes and most insinuating tail. On one 
occasion he almost tore a looking glass down, 
and had to be put out of the room. The next 



FOLLOWING THE DHU^f. 225 

morning it was rein(.)ved, and wc found a snffi- 
cien-t excnse for excitement in an enormous 
tarantula, superintending a brood of young 
tarantulas wlio had recently come into existence. 
These are spiders of the size of a small crab, 
with a venomous sting, from which immediate 
death ensues. As the Sergeant, who destroyed 
this nest, remarked, " cannon-balls and lire-arms 
ain't anything alongside of one of them fellers!" 
In the day-time, when the sun shone, and the 
delicious atmosphere tempted me to spend the 
whole day on the piazza, seated in a hammock, 
reading or dreaming of what I had read, 

*' Wandering Uiroiigh tiie quiet laud of thought, 
Where all was peaceful — " 

then I felt very brave ; but with the shades of 
evening an absolute terror would fall on my 
heart. I would then go into the liouse, and 
barricade the windows — an unnecessary precau- 
tion probably, but one that it was impossible to 
resist. Then sitting in the dark, listening to 

the howling wolves, thinking at times, when 
14 



226 F O L L O A\M N G THE 1) K U M. 

one sounded louder than the rest, that it was the 
dreaded war-cry of the Camanches — ^I bhish to 
record that, in spite of all my preconceived valoi', 
I prepared myself to rush to a pantry, where I 
had determined to lock myself in. The agony 
of terror endured during this period was such 
as to destroy alh claims of ever being looked 
npon as anything approaching a heroine. 

jSTearly two weeks passed thus when the scout- 
ing party returned. The Indians had fled in 
alarm before them, and for the time our pros- 
pects of undisturbed peacefulness were en 
couraging. 



FULI.OWIXG THE DRUM. 227 



CHAPTEE XX. 



CAMP LIFE. 



Garrison life, in tlie phase that I saw it, was 
very pleasant. Each hour was marked by 
some peculiar military signal At daybreak 
" reveille " sounded musically on the drowsy ear; 
then came the " sick call," especially agreeable 
to ''Old Soldiers /" Then the dulcet airs of " peas 
upon a trencher," or "roast beef," summoned 
the soldier with fife and drum, to his frugal 
repast of '''junk" and hard bread. Guard- 
rjiounting, morning and evening drill, parade, 
and finally tattoo, systematically divided the day, 
without rendering it monotonous. 

Each ofiicer took his turn in superintending 
the details of garrison duties. " The ofificer of 
the d^y " visited each sentinel, at daybreak, at 
sunset, and again at midnight, besides a noon- 
day tour of mo-e ,min\ite ijUspection. 



.illJ C/i^ll^l 



228 F L L O W T N G T K K T> R U :\t . 

The strict discipline and subordination in 
wliicli the men in the ranks are kept bj their 
officers is truly wonderful to a civilian, used to 
dealing with that indej)endent race of subalterns 
who are legally entitled to " give warning," if 
displeased by any trifling restriction ! 

The courts-martial, which meet every month, 
are very severe in the punishment of disrespect, 
drunkenness, or any other of the amiable weak- 
nesses to which the rank and file are prone. 

One delinquent was sentenced to wear a '' bar- 
rel jacket" every day for a week. It consisted 
of an old flour barrel with a hole cut for his head 
to pass through, and a pair of holes for his arms. 
This was a i*eward for a chronic tendency to 
"spree," which somewhat interfered with the 
strict performance of his military duties. 

Tlie men were drilling constantly under the 
supervision of the Sergeants ; the officers drilled 
them only once a day. Cavalry drill was my 
especial delight. The officer and his jet black 
blood horse seemed one object, so perfectly did 
the motions of the horse and rider move in uni- 
son, cither heading a frantic charge, or with his 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 220 

platoon prancing gracefully forward, and then 
with an unexpected manoeuvre turning swifily 
on the imaginary foe. 

The soldiers of our p-arrison beloni^ed to that 
horse marine class "mounted infantry," so that 
drilling them into dragoons was by no means 
an easy or pleasant task. Without a knowledge 
of even the first principles of riding, they sat 
on their horses like a j)arcel of clothes-pins, and 
it was not an unusual thing to see a dozen dis- 
mounted at once, and lie sprawling on the 
ground ; they were instantly up, however, and in 
their saddles to try it once more. In spite of 
their mishaps, they seemed to enjoy it very much, 
and after a few months' perseverance became 
cpiite a presentable cavalry company. 

" Swearing like a trooper" is a very graphic 
expression, for if the most sanctified divine, 
knowing the beauties of a well performed cavalry 
manoeuvre, were called upon to perform the 
task of drilling raw men to the duty, he would 
have committed this ungentlemanly sin almost 
spontaneously. 

This course of mounting^ the foot remments 



2'^jO F O L L O W I X G THE D R U M . 

was adopted to increase oar resources in sending 
oiit scouting parties after tlie Indians, who at 
certain seasons were very troublesome and 
dangerous. These scouting parties, wlien 
equipped to start on their perilous but exciting 
adventures, presented a very spirited picture. 
The officer was generally dressed in a dragoon 
fatigue jacket, with gold shoulder straps and 
buttons, a broad brimmed slouched sombrero, 
and a pair of boots with sheaths of leather to 
the waist, to protect him from the underbrusli 
through which he was forced to ride a great 
])art of the way. A belt full of pistols, a 
Bword buckled to the side, and a six-shooting 
rifle, composed his supply of firearms. A pow- 
der-flask hanging from the belt, and a canteen of 
water, with saddle-bags of limited size and 
capacity, held all the stores that he could take 
with him for a week. 

The shirts worn on these occasions would pro- 
duce a nervous shock on the sensitive nerves of 
a certain class of petits maitres, whose ideas are 
confined to the fine linen and delicate cambric 
of a chemisiere a la mode. Tliey are composed 



FOLLOW IN a T IT K DRUM. 2?.l 

<>1 a dark blue check material, warranted to last 
<i loeeh^ and are in great demand wliere laun- 
dresses are scarce. Tliej are termed "Old 
Hickories/' cost exactly fifteen cents, and are 
generally used by bunting and scouting parties 
in tliis part of the world. 

The men were equipped something like their 
officers, and a few loaded mules with a limited 
store of provisions accompanied the party. The 
deer and other game which they might shoot on 
the way were cooked on a stick before the camp- 
lire when they halted for the night to prepare 
tlieir primitive meals and take a few hours' 
necessary rest. Sometimes they rode by moon- 
light, and chose the heat of the day for rest 
and sleep. The iirst thought of the men on 
halting is for their officer, whose simple arrange- 
ments for repose are soon made ; his saddle 
furnishes a pillow, his overcoat and blanket a 
bed. 

Too frequently a fatal termination gives a 
painful and never-forgotten interest to this 
peculiar kind of military duty, as was the case 
with a scouting party that went out from Laredo 



232 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

(tlie next niililaiy station «>ii tlu'^ Riu Grandt 
al)0^/e Iviiiggold Barracks). 

It consisted of two officers, about fifty men, 
and the Indian guide, the former both boys in 
years. They started out with the usual equip- 
ments, and on the second day after followicg an 
Indian trail, came to a point where it suddenly 
disappeared, and no traces of it could be disco- 
vered. 

The guide, with all his practised keenness, was 
at a loss which direction to take, and it was 
finally decided that they should separate and go 
in different directions. They drew lots for the 
guide, who remained with Lieutenant Y., while 
Lieutenant H. took an opposite direction. They 
bade each other a gay and friendly farewell, with 
expectations of meeting again in another week 
at the garrison at Laredo, each boasting of the 
scalps and trophies they would show on their 
return. 

Harry Love, the guide, who remained with 
the former party, was a character whom it is 
worth a slight digression to describe. Lie was 
originall}' from Yermont, and by his frankness 



followinTt the drum. 233 

pjid fearlessness in a measure redeemed his 
jiative State in my somewhat prejudiced eyes. 
His physique was that of a real " Green Moun- 
tain Boy," six feet three, and stalwart and robust 
in proportion, as bold and intrepid as a lion, 
with a voice of thunder, and a mild blue eye, 
which softened the otherwise fierce aspect of his 
rough, sun-burnt face, which was half con- 
cealed by a flowing beai'd and heav}^ moustache. 

When a mere boy, he became disgusted with 
the restraints of home, especially the petty ty- 
ranny of a step-mother, and by a midnight flight 
sundered for ever these galling domestic ties. 

At a seaboard town, he sought and obtained 
a situation as cabin-boy on a vessel bound for 
the West Indies. When fairly out at sea, he 
discovered that he formed part of a bucanier 
crew, whose exploits on the Spanish Main he 
would only allude to vaguely in after years. 
Over all attempts to trace his career through 
the vicissitudes incident upon this piratical life 
he studiously threw the veil of taciturnity. 

At the opening of the war with Mexico, he 
found himself occupying tlie uninteresting yet 



234 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

liuTiitive position of a stevedore at Mobile in 
Alabama. 

The news of the critical position of General 
Taylor, at Fort Brown, which alarmed for a mo- 
ment the whole coimtrj, created along the 
southern seaboard the wildest excitement. Vo- 
lunteers were not wanting, and prominent 
among them was Harry Love. The morning 
after the receipt of the news, he with a hundred 
others set sail for the Rio Grande, to the rescue 
of their brave countrymen. But the old hero 
had fought his way through Mexican bayonets 
before they arrived, and Harry returned to Mo- 
bile, to fulfil a long cherished wish of his heart. 
As has been before remarked, " alas for human 
constancy !" he found that the fair object of his 
love had proved false during his absence, and 
bestowed herself on a less patriotic admirer ! 

. Harry, in a fit of misanthropic disgust, return- 
ed to the army, and throughout the war perform- 
ed the most reckless feats of bravery. He never 
became entirely cured of his disgippointment, 
which seemed to have taken a hold on his heart 
that neither time nor the instio:ations of common 



F O L T. O W T X G THE D E U M . 2^>r) 

sense could entirely eradicate. Many a bright- 
moonlight night, on a scout, he would lie on the 
grass, and discuss the charms of this delusive 
syren. 

It might have seemed weakness had he not 
been such a brave, manly fellow, with a mind 
full of native talent, deeply imbued with a noble 
sense of honor, learned from no other code but 
the instincts of his own uneducated and gene- 
rous nature. 

Harry became quite an adept in Indian scout- 
ing while in Texas, and frequently accompaniad 
parties of government troops. On these exped^ 
tions he seemed to know the trail almost intui- 
tively. A crushed blade of grass, or some other 
slight signal, led him on their track for miles, 
until some unmistakable token of their recent 
presence proved that his conjectures had not 
been without good fomidations. On the occa- 
sion of the scout to which I now allude, the trail 
had been lost for several days, and it seemed 
almost impossible to find any trace of it. The 
men had shown symptoms of insubordination 
for some weeks bef )re starting from camp, and 



23(3 FOLLOWING TnE DTIUM. 

a few liours after tlie officers had divided forces 
it was discovered that they were commencing to 
exhibit signs of intoxication. Their canteens 
were examined, and fonnd to contain whiskey 
instead of water, which had been surreptitiously 
introduced after inspection previous to starting. 
Summary measures had to be immediately 
taken. There was no time to pause in the midst 
of a lonely prairie, with the Camanche foe lurk- 
ing near, and only a band of half intoxicated 
men to oppose them. They did not dare to dis- 
obey the order to empty their canteens, although 
no promptness was shown, and it was done with 
muttered curses and murmurs of disapproval. 
One man, more bold and intoxicated than the 
rest, refused, and showed such flagrant symptoms 
of disrespect and disobedience, that very prompt 
measures were called for. So he was seized by 
order of the officer by his sullen and unwilling 
companions and tied with a rope to his horse, 
who dragged him so for nearly a mile. This 
sobered the rest almost instantly, and they rode 
forward, knowing they had no alternative but 
strict observance of their duties. The ropo 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 287 

finally broke, and the man was soon lost to the 
view of his companions. He eventually reco- 
vered from the effect of his whiskey and bruises, 
and found his way back on foot, telling some of 
his messmates, with great gusto, what a sight it 
was to see his lieutenant, when he got his pluck 
up ! This event, instead of producing dislike 
on the soldiers' part, seemed to add to their 
respect. The uneducated mind unconsciously 
and innately yields to mental sway, where deci- 
sion and firmness combine to force their will, and 
*' private Jackson " after this was always a 
model specimen of military discipline. !N"o other 
course but sacrificing the chances of life in one 
of them could have been pursued under the cir- 
cnmstances. There was no alternative for the 
preservation of the rest ; prompt and decided 
measures were absolutely requisite. 

The morning after these occurrences, the party 
came in sight of the enoftmpment of the Indians, 
at a distance of several miles. With a wild 
shout, the men put spurs to their horses, and 
dashed over the prairie, with the speed of the 
wind. As they neared the camp their excite- 



288 F O I. L O W I N G T HE D II L^ U . 

inent increased, for the Indians, so suddenly sur- 
prised, abandoning their wigwams, horses, and 
everything, scattered in all directions, seek- 
ing safety in the densely tangled cliapparal. The 
soldiers followed them into the thicket, tearing 
their flesh and their garments at every step ; 
horses and riders were pierced and bleeding 
from tlie thorns, which the Indians saved them- 
selves from by crawling on the gromid like 
snakes. 

It was imj)0ssible to trace or follow them, as 
the horses, maddened with pain, refused to 
further breast the thorns. Some trophies were 
secured from the camp, consisting of robes, 
headrdresses, ponchos, &c., and the pursuit con- 
tinued by skirting the cliapparal. 

On the following day the guide struck the trail 
of the retreating Indians, and, as it was very 
fresh, the party had strong hopes of soon overtak- 
ing them on the open p^*airie, where they could 
make up for the disappointment of the day 
before. About noon some figures in the far dis- 
tance revived the excitement of the men, when, 
on nearing the expected foe, they discovered that 



F O L L O W I X (I THE D R U M 23^ 

it was Lieutenant H.'s pai-ty. But what a siglit 
met their view ! Tlie ground was strewn with 
dying men, and Lieutenant H., pierced with ^ve 
arrows, was lying under the shelter of a lov/ 
bush, in the last agonies of death. Tlie story 
was soon told. The Indians who had left their 
encampment pursued by the U. S. soldiers, had 
met with a mounted party of their tribe whom 
they had joined-, and thinking only of the party 
in pursuit had neglected the usual precautions, 
and came suddenly upon the party of Lieutenant 
H. The fight was brief but desperate. In the 
midst of it. Lieutenant H. pointed his revol- 
ver at one of them, who immediately com- 
menced to cry and shed tears copiously, thus 
betraying her to be a squaw,which from her dress 
and weather-beaten old face he would never 
have imagined. His innate ^ense of gallantry 
revolted at fighting even with a woman wa^'rior, 
and he lowered his pistol. She seized on this 
advantage, suddenly veered her horse (which 
she rode astride) to his rear, and treacherously 
pierced him through Avith a poisoned spear. 
They said that he fell without a struggle. His 



240 F O L L O \V 1 N G THE DRUM 

infuriated soldiers, led on by the Sergeant, who 
immediately took command, paid them in 
bloodshed for the loss they had sustained by 
killing eight of their party, the old heathen 
matron among them crying and screaming 
to the last over her mortal wonnds! This is 
but one of the tragic deeds which History 
does not record and Fame does not trumpet, 
that are annually occurring on our frontier. 



FOLLOwrxa thk drum. :> 4 1 



CHAPTEK XXL 

TEXAS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. 

" Even now we hear with inward strife 
A motion toiling in the gloom — 
The Spirit of the years to come 
Yearning to mix himself with Life. 

"A slow developed strength awaits 
Completion in a painful school; 
Phantoms of other forms of rule, 
New Majesties of mighty States." 

Tennyso7i. 

Probably no one portion of our nnion presents 
so many interesting featnres, or so wide a field 
tV)r physical researches, as that embraced within 
the limits of Texas, containing as it does in wide- 
spread developments the three great leaves upon 
which nature has recorded the history of the 
material world. 'No less extensive is the field 



242 F o T. T, o \y T X a t u k d r r M . 

whicli her history nil'ern to the coiitemplatioii of 
the political ecoiioinist. 

The early missions o£ the Spaniards, to which 
allusion has already been made, and wliicli were 
the first attempts to settle the State, were eiFec- 
tnally suppressed by the failure of the crops and 
the incursions of the savages. In the year 1714, 
the Spanish government becoming alarmed on 
hearing of the arrival in Mexico of an adventu- 
rous Canadian, who had crossed through Texas 
for the j)urpose of opening commercial relations 
with that country, and fearing that this portion 
of their possessions would fall into the hands of 
the French, decided that the only course to pre- 
vent it would be to renew their missions. They 
therefore established a chain of posts fi-om 
Florida to New Mexico, which soon acquired a 
permanent footing. The ruins of some of these 
still exist, the crumbling towers, arched roofs and 
dilapidated walls, indicating a not unpretend- 
ing style of architecture. Some of these ruins 
are used for government stables, others are un- 
occupied save by the owl and the bat. 

The establishment of these missions seemed 



FOLLOWTXG T U V. T) V. U ^l . 2i3 

seciirel}^ to fix civilization in Texas. TIig 
Spanish government was extended and ac- 
knov^ledged tlirongliont tlie settlements, soldiers 
were stationed at the missions, and the work of 
converting and civilizing the Indians proceeded 
unchecked%r a long period of time. 

Towards the close of the eighteenth century, 
the Anglo-Saxon pioneers began to find their 
way to these little colonies. They w^ere soon 
folio w^ed by others, and in 1812 their num- 
bers having been largely augmented by the 
remnant of the notorious expedition organized 
by Aaron Burr, a short-lived and unsuccessful 
revolution was formed against the arbitrary 
government of Spain. Shortly after this, Mexi- 
co revolted against the authority of Spain, 
and after a short struggle established her in- 
dependence. From that time to the present, 
the history of that country has been one con- 
tinued series of revolutions and counter-revo- 
lutions; every page of her annals disfigured 
with the blood of men who had at one time 
or other possessed the full confidence of the 
people. 



2-1- 1 .F G T. L O W I X G T H K I > T^ l' M . 

It was not in tlie nature v^ tiling's tliat Texas 

o » 

in which tlie Anglo-Saxon blood now predoini 
nated, should submit to the arbitrary laws 
and exactions of this fickle and miserable 
race. The dissolution of their connexion was 
the natural consequence of tyranny tJn the one 
side and manly resistance on the other. 

The struggle for independence was a severe 
one, and it was not until the best blood of the 
pioneers was shed that she proved her capacity 
for resistance. The names of "Davie Crock- 
ett" and " Bowie," whose chivalrous deeds and 
desperate daring have even now the semblance 
of fabled story, are engraved on the stones of 
the Alamo, w^hich will always be regarded by 
the Texan as a new Thermopylae. 

On the 3d of March, 1837, the independence 
of Texas as a nation was acknowledged by the 
United States, and two years after by France 
and England. 

But the maintenance of a separate existence 
among nations required greater exertions than 
the infant colonists possessed. Besides, they 
had not fought for power, but for freedom ; this 



FOl>L()VriNG THE DliUM. 215 

once attained, their tliouglits reverted to the 
})rosperous land from whence their adventnrons 
steps had bronght them. It was their birth- 
place, the homes of their brothers, and contained 
the graves of their fathers. An irresistible 
impulse led them to seek admission into the 
Union. This was accomplished in the year 
1844. 

Hazardous as was the experiment to us, the 
sequel has proved that this political exotic, 
transplanted from tlie enervating and sickly 
soil of Mexico, 'has, under the genial influence 
of our institutions, grown into a vigorous and 
hardy plant. 

Texas is a State of enormous area, being six 
hundred miles from east to west, and four hun- 
dred from north to south, containing nearly two 
hundred and fifty thousand square miles, as large 
as the New England and Middle States com- 
bined. It contains a population of three hun 
dred thousand inhabitants exclusive of Indians. 
The greater portion of the settlers are from the 
older States ; of the foreigners a large praportiou 
are Germans. 



216 FOL LOWING THE D R U :\r. 

The inaiu object of emigration of course la 
agricnltiire. The most remarkable physical fea- 
tm*e of the State is the extraordinary nnmber and 
extent of the rivers, having a total length exceed- 
ing ten thousand miles, which with their thousand 
tributaries penetrate to almost every part, causing 
the soil under the hand of the husbandman to 
yield abundant harvests. The wild luxuriant 
growth of the forest trees, along these river 
banks, have by their overhanging branches, and 
by falling into the bed of the stream, forming 
natural rafts, prevented extensive navigation. 
The valleys of these rivers will in a short time 
yield the great bulk of the cotton and sugar of 
this country. 

Considering her comparative infancy, Texas 
stands among the slave-holding states unrivalled 
in cultivation and production, in energy and en- 
terprise, in intelligence and morality. Any at- 
tempt to estimate her future mfist fall short of 
reality. It is impossible to comprehend the full 
force of a silent, progressive, and wide-spread 
emigration. The tread of armies may be real- 
ized — they move in mabs>es, and appeal to the 



F '■■) ]. ]. O \V 1 X G T i! E I) K U M . 217 

senses ; but millions passing individually, are 
unperceived, until by a united action they make 
themselves known and felt. 

Thus it is with Texas. It is only in the light 
of history that the effects of its annexation 
can be fully comprehended, coupled as it is 
with the history of the Mexican war, and the 
discovery of gold in California. It is only in 
the light of history that we shall be able to 
read the now silent workings of a new and pe- 
culiar phase of civilization. Yet there is no 
doubt that were the rest of the Union to pass 
from existence, there would yet be left, w^ithin 
the limits of Texas, the elements of a magnifi- 
cent empire. 

• Land of the future, which a faith sublime 
Fills with rich increase, Hail ! though conquered time 
Not yet for thee has harvested the Past, 
Thy seed through far horizons now is cast, 
And grander spaces open for thy hand : 
Thy skies are blue, and green thy fruitful land. 
Ages shall pass before thy youth shall see 
Fulfilled the promise of thine infancy." 

De Trobriand, 



21H F O L T. O ^V 1 X G T H ;., j) j^^ aj 



CHAPTER XXll. 

THE LAST TAP OF THE DRUM. 

Our residence on the frontier was now about to 
terminate. Orders had arrived from the Head 
Quarters of the Division, at San Antonio de 
Bexar, for the troops, at E-inggold Barracks to 
proceed to the north-western portion of the 
State, live hundred miles into the Indian 
country. They were to thread tlieir way through 
a hitherto unexplored region of country, and if 
they escaped from exposure and the savage 
foe, to make an encampment on some carefully 
selected spot, where a stream of water, and per- 
haps a clump of trees, would supply the neces- 
sary requirements for a new military post. Hu- 
mors of beautiful forest glades, salmon streams, 
countless herds of buffalo and deer, and a 
iine, salubrious climate, were dwelt upon in such 
pleasant anticipations, that the perils and dis- 



FOLLOWING THE 1) R U M . 249 

comforts of the march were lost sight of. Lesa 
food, and fewer of the bare necessities of life 
than we had at Einggold Barracks, we knew 
would be inevitable; but "where glorj leads 
the way" a soldier seldom hesitates, although 
in the more sober paths of duty he may not 
always be found "madly rushing on!" The 
prospects were, that we should live in tents for 
two years, before which time quarters could not 
be built. The 'soldiers were to hew the trees 
and build log cabins, nails and carpenters' tools 
being all the aid that Uncle Sam furnished to- 
wards this object. 

I anticipated the trip, as an additional phase 
in a sort of gipsy existence, with great pleasure, 
as by this time I had almost succeeded in for- 
getting the luxuries and necessities of civilized 
life. A piece of hard bread and a glass of luke- 
warm water (strained through a rag) could not be 
called a banquet, yet was not an unusual meal to 
me. I became quite out of the habit of having 
any regular dinner at one period, and made up 
my mind to regard it as a mere unnecessary cere- 
mony ! Our arrangements for the march, how- 



250 FOLLOWING THE T> R U l\r . 

ever, were abruptly broken in upon, as far as we 
were concerned, by the arrival of an unexpected 
leave of absence from the commander-in-chief, 
and in a few da^^s the more civilized metropolis 
became the goal of our journey, instead of the 
wilds of 'New Mexico. 

I left Ringgold Barracks with as nmch pain 
as pleasure, feeling that had my lot been cast 
there, it had not been an utterly cheerless one. 
The climate was delicious, the life neither tame 
nor monotonous. I left behind me warm hearts, 
and brought with me sweet memories, and new 
and enlarged views of life as it really is, robbed 
of conventionalities. The people by whom I 
had been surrounded, though bold, reckless, and 
perhaps rough in their exterior, had exhibited a 
standard of honor and true refinement more 
elevated than that generally acknowledged by 
the world, and divested of all false gloss. 

Our sail down the Rio Grande was the repe- 
tition of the voyage up. "We passed through 
Brownsville hurriedly during the night, and drove 
by moonlight to Brazos Island, resting again at 
the wayside hut. The night was beautiful, the 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 251 

full moon Castillo- an efFiiJo-ence of lii-iil lliat 

O O o 

seemed almost like day, producing that exqui- 
site effect on natm-e, half of beauty, and half of 
mystery, so unlike the glare of sunlight. I was 
almost too weary and sick to enjoy it, for 
although my Texas campaign might have been 
invigorating to the mind, it certainly had not 
been so physically. At morning's dawn wq 
went on board the steamer, and in a few hours 
set sail for 'New Orleans. I was deplorably sick 
during the voyage ; in consequence of which, 
after arriving in New Orleans, we remained there 
nearly a fortnight to recruit. We were to 
return to New York by the inland route, 
and secured rooms on one of the Mississi^^pi 
river steam boats as far as Louisville. It was 
a magnificent vessel, far too beautiful for the 
vulgar herd that thronged it. My state-room 
was quite a la petite maitresse, with a toilet 
table trimmed with lace, and pink and gold 
china — I believe the state-room par excellence 
of the boat. 

I spent most of the week that we were on board 
'*• The Magnolia.'' on deck, enjoying the sublim- 



li.jii F U L L O Vri N G THE DRUM. 

ity of this niiglitj and glorious river, inusii g 
promimucmsly on — 

" The beautiful, the grand, 
The glorious of my native land." 

Visions of Father Marquette and Ferdinand de 
Soto often crossed my mind, as we passed over 
the dark waters that centuries ago were first 
traversed by them, and my eyes were fed on 
the same gorgeous scenery that at every turn in 
the river met their view. Sublimity, vastness, 
and grandeur are the chief impressions produced 
by this peerless and mighty flow of waters. 

At times when nearing one shore, the oppo- 
site banks would seem miles away in the dis- 
tance. Occasional bluffs and broad spread 
valleys, with towns, villages, and settlements in 
incredible numbers distributed along, gave food 
for many reflections on political economy, and 
philosophy generally. 

The rush of commerce on these western 
waters seems almost a miracle, so short a time 
ago the skiff of the aborigines or the breath of 
Heaven alone disturbed theiJ" repose, while now 



F O L L O W 1 X G T PI E D R U M . 2^6 

tliej are hourly plied by steamers freighted with 
Immanity, urged on by an unthought of power 
to emigrate to the unexplored and beautiful 
regions to which they are hurrying — some in 
quest of wealth, some of excitement, others of 
a new home. 

Enterprise — avarice — adventure — so are our 
human passions ordained to fulfil the destiny of 
the univei'se ! It is rather common-place to ex- 
patiate and wonder at the strength, energ}^, and 
vigor of that young giant " Sam," with his 
many foibles, and his many noble traits — the 
impetuosity of his Creole blood contending 
with the caution he has inherited from his Pil- 
grim Fathers, the stolidity of his burgomaster an- 
cestors, and the poetical sublimity of his Indian 
progenitors; the chivalry derived from some 
scion of a noble house mixed with the demo- 
cracy of the plodding sons of toil, and dashes of 
religious enthusiasm with occasional touches of 
patriotism. 

What wonder that he should be such an ano- 
malous character, with such an anomalous com- 
bination of antecedents ! 



254 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

To be sure liis shoes are lioLnailed ! and he 
may be seen at noon-day in a dress-coat with 
brass buttons ! while bathing he does not regard as 
the end and aim of man's fleeting existence ! But 
he is a hard-working man, and as yet has had 
but little time for trifling outward adornments. 
His ambition is insatiable, and like a young 
Hercules he is manfully fighting in the vanguard 
of the progress of humanity. Calling upon 
Europe to disgorge her slaving peasantry, and 
to ship them over where they may be illu- 
mined by the divine light of Knowledge in his 
happy land ! at the same time nobly standing by 
the principle that •' Cufiy" was especially provided 
by heaven as an exception to prove the rule, 
that all men were born free and equal, and to 
hoe his rice and cotton fields ! 

The dense forests that for miles at a time line 
the banks of the Mississippi are one of its pecu- 
liar features, and seem to date back to the 
time when "God created all green things." ^o 
words can describe their luxuriance and wealth 
of form and foliage ; the rough woodman, in 
his clearings, has frequently left a single tree 



F L T. O W I N G THE T) R U ^1 . 255 

standing bj itself in its Led of rich emerald 
sward stretcliing out its beautiful arms, in so 
voluminous a green shelter, that it seemed to ask 
tliat a homestead might be reared under its pro- 
tecting shade. I used to sit for hours, fascinated 
with all this novelty and beauty — when "the 
sunset lay before us like a dream," — when the 
sun first rose in the dewy freshness of early day, 
and when nature was bathed in the silver light 
of the moon's rays. 

Our party of fellow travellers in the first 
cabin were very amusing. An actor who resem- 
bled the description of that most fascinating 
bm-glar, Paul Clifford prior to his reformation, 
with a romantic air and a turned down collar. 
A bride of forty summers (or rather winters), 
with her second husband, gave me most intense 
pleasure. She used to relate anecdotes of " her 
dear old first," whom she represented as " a nice 
old gentleman," a little touchy to be sure ; but 
that was natural at his age. She loved to dwell 
on the happiness slie had enjoyed when daily 
combing his scanty grey locks from the rear, 
Bhe tied them on the top of his shiny and vene- 



25(1 F O T. I- AV T X a T II E I) R V M . 

rable Load with a black ribbon ; and slie would 
feelingly dilate on tlie agony of mind slie endur- 
ed wlien performing this task of love for the 
last time on his inanimate clay. 

A month afterwards she married her " dear 
Joshua," a tall, slim, cadaverous-looking person, 
with whom she said she was enjoying her 
^'honeymoon number two." This vulgar insti- 
tution of iioiu'vinooiis was iiitcMuled for this class 
of people, I am sure ! 

Joshua (she said) was not as touchy as '^ dear 
old number one" on most subjects; but he 
.adored her, and was jealous — unhappy female ! 
She was fat and fair as well as fort}^, and 
w^ore an inexhaustible amount of jet finery 
(tokens of her recent loss of dear old number 
one). 

Paul Cli.iFord had a professional eye for 
scenic effect, and led on by encouraging glances 
from this bereaved bride, he gazed at her thea- 
trically for hours to the great agony of Joshua^ 
who made his jealousy very evident, and vented 
it in private on the partner of his bosom. 

If Joshua had a weakness, it was for a reckless 



F O L L O W 1 N G T H E V R U II . 257 

display in dress ! Frogs were his ideal of rich- 
ness and elegance, and Count d'Orsay never 
felt more satisfied with the success of his toilet, 
than did this simple-minded man, when he 
issued from his state-room with a coat literalh^ 
embossed with frogs and braiding. He said he 
had been married in it, and that it was called 
" an Italian boulevard," after a place in France ! 

The widow used to wear emeralds in her hair 
to dinner, and between them they kept up such 
a degree of elegance and good taste, that it al- 
most supplied these deficiencies in the remaining 
brown linen passengers. Some months after 
this I met Joshua in Broadway, and, yielding 
to an irresistible impulse, stopped to ask him 
after his wife. "With a look in which he strove 
to embody as much lachrymose distress of mind 
as possible, he said ''I am sorry, ma'am, to say 
that Mi's. Joshua is dead!'^ 

''All that's bright must fade," etc. etc ! 

There was a Baptist clergyman on board, who 

was at the same ttme a ranting abolitionist. He 

went on shore at one of the landings, and finding 

a cluster of small, lightly-clad negri>es looking on 
16 



2o6 F O L L W I N G T H E D K U M . 

at the unloading of some goods, he addrtrised 
them in pathetic language — " Oh, misei able 
children ! don't you feel the manacles of slavery 
on your limbs?" One small, bright-looldng 
darky, looking at another, said, " No, I don't^ does 
you, Zip ?" To which Zip replied in the Jiega- 
tive with a shout of negro laughter, accompanied 
by a series of gymnastic evolutions, from his 
profiei.Hcy in which he had acquired his sobri- 
quet of Zip Coon. The plulanthroj^ist was quite 
nonplussed, but afterwards . remarked it was 
fearful to see human souls so blind to their 
own wretchedness as to be able to dance and 
sing in a state of such deplorable bondage ! 
Some Californians returning to their northeiii 
homes, and other less conspicuous passengers, 
completed our party. On the deck below there 
a different class of people, and the scene there 
was at all times animated. A large party of 
flat-boat men, wdio had been to New Orleans 
with their lumber, were returning with us up 
the river, earning their passage by assisting in 
taking in fire-wood and freight at the different 
landings. Some were Mississippi Hiver men, and 



F O L L OWING T H E D R U ^,1 259 

others from the Oliio and Wabash, a great 
deal of party spirit was occasionally exhibited 
among them. 

One evening at quite a late hour we stopped to 
take wood at a rough wharf near one of the clear- 
ings. The doors of the furnaces were opened, 
which threw a deep red glow on the shore ; pine 
faggots were lighted on the bank, and the deck 
hands and deck passengers were formed into 
gangs to carry the wood on board. The "Wabash 
River men commenced singing an exulting air 
with each verse ending "the gallant Wabash 
boys." This was emphatically groaned at by 
the others. At the end of it, one of the oppo- 
sition set up the well-known air of "sailing 
down the river of the Ohio;" at this the Mis- 
sissippi River men renewed their dismal groans, 
and finally followed a terrific row, which it is im- 
possible for me to describe. 

The whole scene was one peculiar to this river. 
The fiery glow cast from the furnaces on the 
shore lighted up these wild looking figures, as they 
worked at their task, and shouted their excited 
strains. Tlie dense gloomy forests that backed 



260 F O L L ^V I N G THE DRUM. 

the clearing suggested to the mind the vast m> 
broken depths of solitude that lay enshrined 
within their precincts. Where 

"The growths of jasmme turned 
Their humid arms, festooning tree to tree, 
And at the root, through kish green grasses, burned 
The red anemone." 

The evening star shone out in its j^ale dim 
beauty, while over all the shades of night were 
falling. At Natchez " under the hill" we took 
OH board a most suspicious-looking set, soon dis- 
covered to be a gang of blacklegs of the deepest 
dye, who finding they were regarded with suspi- 
cion left the boat at the next landing above. 

At all times of day and night we would be 
startled by a hard bump, and the general cry of 
"a snag" would resound. These fallen trees 
are shifted by each tide, and it is impossible to 
steer clear of them. Their great roots lie embed- 
ded in the bed of the river, and their trunks 
pointing directly down the stream have too 
often caused the most disastrous wrecks and loss 
of life. Between these and the reckless racing 



FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 261 

of the high pressure steamboats, a sail on the Mis- 
sissippi becomes a rather perilous adventure. 

The flat-boat men, on their way clown the river, 
used to amuse me very much. They were a 
jolly set of reckless fellows, who seemed to 
think that after their boat is built, launched, 
and loaded, they have nothing to do but to en- 
joy to the utmost extent the trip to New 
Orleans. A fiddle and a banjo generally ac- 
company them, and these combined with their 
vocal choruses principally of negro minstrelsy, 
floated over the waters in delightful harmony. 
They cook their food on deck, and form quite a 
picturesque group as they sit around the boiling 
pot from which each helps himself. 

When they arrive at their destination the flat- 
boat is knocked to pieces, the planks which 
compose it sold with the cargo, and the crew 
work their way homeward, on some of the 
steamers. 

After a week's sail we reached the junction 
of the Ohio and Mississippi, and in two days 
more the "Magnolia" deposited us at Louisville, 
Kentucky. From there we continued up the 



262 FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

Ohio to CinciDiiati, and returned, via Lake Erie. 
Buffalo, and Albany, to New York. 

Here ended my brief campaign, and with it 
ended a chapter in a life's history only interest- 
ing perhaps to a few friends, whose thoughts 
accompanied me to the frontier. A soldier re- 
quires a buoyant disposition and a philosophical 
turn of mind more than most men, and if this 
can be arrived at, there is much that is attrac- 
tive in his careless, semi-civilized existence. 

In retrospect all the discomforts of that wan- 
dering life are forgotten, and so truly does " al- 
chymist memory turn the paspt to gold" that 
I find "The past is very tender at my 
heart," and I can now only recal bright and 
glowing recollections of the days of following 
the drum. 

" Sounds that once so charmed my ear 
I no longer now can hear ; 
They are all an empty hum, 
For the drum I 
Oh, the dram I" 



THE END. 



\ 




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LIBRARY OF HUMOBOUUMERicA^ ^P^ 

WITH JLLrSTKATIO^SBY t>ARLEY. _-^ 

T. B. PETT.F1JSOX & BK OTHERS. 



WAJOR JONES'S COURTSHIP. 

DRAMA IN POKERVILLE. THE CONSCRIPT. 

CHARCOAL SKETCHES. 

MISFORTUNES OF PETER FA8ER. 

MAJOR JONES'S SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 

YANKEE AMONGST THE MERMAIDS. 

STREAKS OF SQUATTER LIFE. 

QUARTER RACE IN KENTUCKY. 

SIMON SUGGS. CHARMS OF PARIS. 

THE RIVAL BELLES. 

YANKEE YARNS AND YANKEE LETTERS. 

ADVENTURES OF COL. VANDERBOMB. 

BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 

ADVENTURES OF PERCIVAL MABERRY. 

THE QUORNDON HOUNDS. 

MY SHOOTING BOX. 

MAJOR JONES'S CHROINICLES OF PINEVILLE. 

STRAY SUBJECTS ARRESTED AND BOUND OVER. 

DEER STALKERS. 

ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN FARRAGO. 

PICKINGS FROM THE PICAYUNE. 

MAJOR O'RECAN'S ADVENTURES. 

PETER PLODDY. FOLLOWING THE DRUM. 

WIDOW rugby's HUSBAND. 

S0L.'SMITH8 THEATRICAL APPRENTICESHIP. 

SOL. SMITH'S THEATRICAL JOURNEY WORK. 

POLLy PEABLOSSOM'S WEDDING. 

WARWICK WOODLANDS. 

LOUISIANA SWAMP DOCTOR. 

AUNT PATTY'S SCRAP BAG. 

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